


Dullahan

by TheKaraboudjan



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Basically what if Team Iron Man had a Headless Horseman on their side, Canon Divergence - Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Canon-Typical Violence, Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Dullahan - Freeform, Good Demons, IDK where im gonna take these boys, Not Canon Compliant, Original Character(s), Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Pre-Spider-Man: Homecoming, What if there were demons tho...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:20:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 24,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24439588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheKaraboudjan/pseuds/TheKaraboudjan
Summary: Frost was just trying to get by in a new world.But it's not easy being a Headless Horseman.Maybe Peter Parker could help?
Relationships: Peter Parker & Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. The Void

Frost wanted out of the Void. It wasn’t a sudden revelation. He had known for centuries. Void wasn’t the place for him. it was a dirty, grungy, shithole of the Underworld and Frost didn’t belong there.

But he was a Dullahan, which meant that the only way he was going to get assigned to a country was if the previous Dullahan resigned. Which was very rare so he put his name down for a position 800 years ago. But if he did get a spot it would be like being back in Heaven before they kicked him out. That story is for another day. But being a Dullahan on duty meant only claiming souls twice a month, and for the rest of that time he could explore the Earth and see more than gambling dens and liquor. And boy did Frost see liquor.

It was a bartenders job to handle liquor, even if he had Fallen at the age of 16 and stayed with the same face. He had endured centuries of demons and their original ‘aren’t you a bit young to be using that stuff?’ Jokes that Frost had learnt to just smile and laugh politely at, lest he go home with a broken nose again.

The bar where he worked was in a dirty dive, with the most commonly served drink to be ‘beer’. Frost always walked home smelling like cheap beer and cigarettes, and it was a blessing that nobody in the Void could die, otherwise the second hand smoke would’ve killed him long ago. Or was that a curse? He could never decide.

The red skies above him never changed as he walked back to his house, and that was the one thing Frost loathed the most about the Void. It never changed colour or dimmed, just staying a shade of red not bright enough to see properly, but not dark enough to sleep properly. The sickly red light washed all over the city as he strode quickly through the dingy streets after his shift had ended, eager to get out of sight before the dark hours struck. That was the worst time to be out, when the gangs awoke and swarmed into the bars and streets looking to get sloshed and start fights, preferably at the same time.

Being a Dullahan made Frost a prime target for fights, as the gangs would descend upon him and kick his head in until it crumbled and his Dullahan rose and ‘killed’ them all. It would merely knock them out for a few minutes until they woke back up, but death in the Void felt nice apparently.

He didn’t go down easy, as he had played rugby for quite some time in heaven and he had played a variant briefly in the Void, though it was a lot more fighting and brawling in the mud than doing anything with points. He stopped when he saw someone’s neck get snapped on the field, but the strength from the sport stayed with him. The slight of his apartment door was an extremely welcome sight, and Frost slid the door shut with minutes to go before the Dark hours.

His bag crashing down on the floor broke the deathly silence in his flat, and Frost flicked on the various lamps scattered across his main living space, filling the cold area with a warm glow from the tungsten bulbs Frost had specifically collected for the lamps. Frost pulled the curtains over the windows and started to boil water for a warm drink in bed. Crossing over to the wide sofa masquerading as a bed, Frost unbuttoned his smoky shirt and draped it over the back of a chair, scooping up his hot water and rolling into bed. He hoped a Dullahan would resign soon.

-=-

The morning was cold when he woke up, the frost working its way into Frost’s bones. He didn’t check his watch. Demons always got 5 hours of sleep, no more, no less. He couldn’t sleep in or wake up early, and everyone was the same. Since there was no visible day and night, sleep schedules were up to the individual. Frost revolved around his shifts. He would always sleep right after he had a shift and go from there.

Sleeping wasn’t a necessary thing in the Void, since you couldn’t die you would just keep getting tired for a day then hit a wall where you couldn’t get any worse. A lot of people did that but Frost didn’t see the appeal. He swung his legs over the edge of his excuse for a bed and stood up, brushing his brown hair away from his face with a swipe. He needed to check his message box in the faint hope he had been deployed. Crossing the cold planks of his floor with the shoes he had left on overnight, Frost opened his wardrobe and dug out a fresh shirt.

The material was the same temperature as the room and he shifted uncomfortably as he buttoned it up. The outside was the same warm weather as expected and Frost scooped up his bag and unbolted the door in one fluid motion, letting the warm feeling wash over him. He walked swiftly down the streets bathed in red, seeing the last stragglers of the Dark hours stagger out of bars. The message building was a shining beacon of hope in the lives of many in the Void, as Demons could contact friends or family in Heaven and vice versa. Frost’s family hadn’t contacted him in the 3000 years he had been in the Void, and it had hurt for a few centuries, but he had got on with his life and he only cried about it on his birthday.

The Message Building was visible in the distance and Frost quickened his pace, brushing shoulders with various types of Demon in his haste. The entrance to the Building was guarded by two Leprechauns, their various gold trinkets making Frost cringe. He approached a werewolf in a booth and asked about his box, and the werewolf retreated into the back of the Building and Frost was left waiting at the booth. 

“Just one letter for you, dear.” The werewolf came back, holding a thick envelope between her hands.

“Are you sure that’s from my box?” Frost choked out, getting his first letter in centuries. 

“Yes dear, number D478,389” She handed over the envelope with a flourish and Frost held it gently in his hands, looking at his name and box number printed on the front disbelievingly. He said a quiet thanks and practically ran home, clutching the letter to his chest and feeling a small spark of hope kindle there. He slammed his front door and ripped open the letter, reading the neat words in his native Dulhan. 

_To David B Frost_

_We are informing you that your application to be deployed has been reviewed and the council has decided that you are to be placed on Earth in the Country of America on the date of 71/13/78._

_Please visit the Dullahan embassy on the day to receive deployment details._

_Congratulations_

**_Keith Caust_ **

**_Senior Dullahan_ **

It was swift, impersonal and to the point. And it was the most beautiful thing Frost had ever seen. He did a cartwheel in his cramped apartment and whooped for an hour in joy. He was getting out of the Void. 


	2. New Experiences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe Frost's luck was turning up?

The letter said he was to be deployed in 2 days not counting the current day, which was 2 days too long in Frost’s opinion. He spent the rest of the day down at the bar he worked at, telling the cyclops that he worked for that he was resigning. Which of course they didn’t take well, but a punch to the face couldn’t dampen Frost’s spirits. He bought a bottle of lemonade off the shelf and walked back home sporting his new bruises and a massive smile. He finished the day by organising his affairs around the city, cancelling his subscription to various places. The next day was filled with renting out a storage locker a block away and filling it with his meagre possessions. He slept on the floor that night, and he was reminded of his first couple of years in that flat, when he had nothing. But as far as he was concerned he was the luckiest Dullahan in the Void. 

-=-

He gave the keys to his flat to an old merman who had just arrived in the Void, and told him a few tips as he found him dazedly walking down the road, no doubt wishing he was an angel again. The Dullahan embassy was quite a walk, so Frost swigged the rest of the lemonade as he travelled through the dank city and wondered if he would miss the dirty bars and constant threat of being punched. He doubted it. The Dullahan Embassy stood out in the row of Embassy’s, the red and green colours marking it out as his Embassy contrasting with the other colours of the various types of Demon. 

The Dullahan guards at the gate checked his authenticity and waved him through, and Frost knew they were watching him despite their lack of heads. He knew because he would too. A young demon wanted to get into the Embassy? Probably a prank. But it wasn’t. And Frost entered the Embassy with wide eyes, taking in the high ceilings and overall cleanliness of the place. A bemused man ushered him over to a desk where a woman checked his letter and status. She pointed him towards a door labeled ‘Deployment’ in Dulhan and he thanked her and walked through. 

The room was set out in a very obvious power play, with 3 chairs behind an ornate desk and one chair on the other side. 3 Dullahan were sat at the desk, with their heads on thankfully, and they motioned for him to sit down. 

“Now, Mr. Frost, we seem to be at a stalemate over here. You see, we cannot decide if it is a beneficial thing or not to have a young Dullahan deployed in one of our bigger countries. Could you please present your reasons why we should deploy you again, just for clarification.” 

Frost froze. He had put several good reasons on his application sheet, but that was 800 years ago. He cleared his throat.

“Well, I believe I would be a good choice precisely because of my age. If a new bloke moves in town and suddenly there’s a few murders, who is your prime suspect? But if a teenager moves in, who’s going to suspect the kid?” The three Dullahan nodded and conferred quietly, whilst Frost fiddled with the corner on his cleanest shirt. 

“Well, Mr. Frost, that was exactly what we were hoping for. You seem to share our view on the subject and we believe you to be a good candidate. Please go down the door behind us for the finer details of your identity on Earth.” They smiled in unison at him and he thanked them gratefully and walked as fast as he could for the door before they could change their minds. The next room was a room similar to the last, but with a pane of black glass on the less ornate desk. A young woman was sitting at the table and she gestured for him to join her with a warm smile. 

“Good morning, Mr. Frost, I am here to help you set up your life on Earth!” She smiled again and he smiled back. “Ok so your first choice is what house you want! There’s a couple to choose from so take your time!” He nodded slowly and picked up the black glass, seeing the various living spaces displayed on the surface. His mouth dropped open at the homes on the glass. Not one of them would under the price of a million of whatever currency they used in America. They were all elegant and stylish, and Frost was torn between them all. He ultimately chose a flat with the main theme of black, which was 4 times the size of his old flat but with a slightly similar layout. He wanted a bit of his old life in there. 

“Ok! Good choice! That is in the borough of Queens in Manhattan, so you will be attending Midtown School of Science and Technology! How nice!” 

“But I don’t know anything about technology?” 

“Don’t worry about that, sweetie. When you go into the Hellfire it will deposit the information you would need for a scholarship there, as well as information about the place and locations of where stuff is!” Frost nodded absently, his head spinning. 

“Next port of call is transport! Because we can’t have you walking everywhere!” Frost looked down at the glass again and saw 4 gleaming vehicles for him to choose. He didn’t know anything about cars so he chose a motorbike with the tag ‘Indian 1935’ beneath it. 

“Beautiful bike! Now onto your Dullahan duties! Twice a month your Dullahan will take over and do his thing across America, you fight for control but it’s easier to let it do its thing. You can become Dullahan whenever but it’s not advised for obvious reasons. You will be invisible to all except your victims when you ride to take souls. Oh and last thing, 1,000,000 American dollars will be deposited into your bank account every six months, and you will have 1,000,000 starting money. This is from your ‘parents’ who have abandoned you at the age of 15 because you were too rebellious. That is your backstory if anyone asks why you live alone. But it is not advised to take anyone home or let anyone close, since you house a demon in your body. Oh last thing, you will age when you go down there, so be prepared for that” Frost nodded again, and his heart went cold at the backstory, which was closer to the truth than anybody knew. 

“Well, that’s you done!” She clicked her fingers and a column of hellfire rose up, vicious and violent. 

“If you could just step into here, you’ll be transported into your house! Good luck!” She shook his hand and stepped back. Frost stumbled to his feet and gazed at the fire, knowing that this was it. He breathed in deeply and stepped in, feeling the flames engulf him. The roaring started to get louder and he revelled in the feeling of the flames licking at his clothes. He opened his mouth and let breath go, watching it shoot out in a spike of fire. The flames curled around his teeth and it tasted sweet. His eyes turned red as the roaring reached his peak and a flash of red dazzled him. 

He felt the information the woman had talked about come rushing into his mind, and suddenly he knew a million new things, like how to drive a motorbike and what a resistor was. The red suddenly disappeared and he was left standing in a massive apartment. 

He staggered slightly and crashed down onto a leather sofa. He froze as he sank into the material, the feeling foreign to him. He jumped back up and took in the surroundings, noting the black and grey colour scheme. He started to warily explore, relaxing slightly as he found the flat to be empty. He shuffled around the kitchen and felt the cool marble surfaces beneath his fingers. The fridge was empty as he opened it, and he knew with his newfound knowledge that he needed food to eat. He sorted through the new information and found a grocery store that wasn’t far. He checked the time and saw it was 10:20 pm. Not a good time to go out. 

He explored the rest of the flat, discovering the bedroom had an en-suite. He shrieked and quickly ran into the shower and turned it on, feeling clean water cascade onto his shoulders for the first time in centuries. He stood under the shower for almost half an hour with a dumb grin before having his fill and shutting the water off. He stood in the bathroom wearing soaking wet clothes from the Void and quickly stripped off, leaving the clothes hanging over the bath. 

He dried himself with a towel and opened the built in wardrobe, gazing at all the clothes hanging there, confronted with a choice he hadn’t had to make in years. He chose flannel pajamas for bed and used a hairdryer to blow his hair around, laughing at the sensation and at his hair in the mirror. He finished and put it away, exploring the rest of the flat. 

A study was discovered, with bookshelves stacked to the brim with books and a laptop and computer set up on the desk. He found a massive flatscreen TV across from the sofa he had originally crashed down upon, and a coffee table with magazines spread across the dark wood surface. A spare room and a bathroom completed Frost’s search, and an unfamiliar sensation was working its way into his mind. It took him a moment to identify it, but when he did it was not unexpected. He was sleepy. A quick inspection of the lock on the door and the hallway outside let Frost relax even more, and he crashed into the queen size bed and burrowed beneath the soft sheets, falling asleep in minutes. 

The next morning he was awoken by the sunlight streaming through the open curtains and onto his face. He shrieked and buried his head under his pillow, only emerging when he remembered where he was. The sunlight was blinding the man who had spent centuries in dim light, and he covered his eyes with his flannel sleeve and ran to the table by his bedroom door, where he remembered there had been some sunglasses left on the side. He scrambled to put them on and sagged with relief when the light dimmed, but some annoyance was still there when light still found its way through the uncovered sides of the glasses. 

First order of business, food. Second order of business, better sunglasses. He woke up fully from his first good sleep in 3000 years and stretched, feeling his new corporal body’s joints crack and pop. He shuffled out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, groaning when the fridge’s emptiness failed to quell his new hunger pangs. 

He shuffled back into the bedroom and shed the pajamas, choosing a new outfit consisting of jeans, black t-shirt, black boots and a leather jacket. He combed his hair with his fingers, lacking a brush, and added toothpaste, toothbrush and a hairbrush to his mental list. He found a wallet with a credit card and a drivers licence on the table by the front door, next to some keys with a garage door clicker that had a number on the back with a floor level. He exited the flat, noting down the number on the door in his mind. 

The hallway was clean and airy, with floor to ceiling panels of glass looking down on the street below. Frost raised an eyebrow at how high he was, and crossed into the elevator at the end of the corridor. The doors opened to reveal an almost empty elevator, save for one man standing by the controls and a woman in the corner on a device. Frost’s new info told him it was a phone. He added that to his mental list as well. 

“What floor, sir?” The man asked 

“What floor is the garage on?” Frost asked, remembering the motorbike.

“U1, sir”

“That’ll be the one then” The man nodded and punched in the number as they descended. The woman got out on the ground floor, to be replaced with 4 others. The doors opened at U1 and Frost thanked the man and left, walking out into the cool underground air. He looked at his clicker again and saw the number D3 engraved on the back. He passed the various doors and stopped at the one corresponding to the clicker. He opened it up and revealed a gleaming red bike, the new info telling him that it was a 1935 model or ‘retro’. 

He grinned and saddled up, donning a black helmet over his glasses. He roared out of the underground and into the street, taking in the high buildings and hordes of people on the streets. He laughed and sped off, using the New Info to locate a store likely to sell sunglasses and bags. He weaved through traffic, just barely staying within the confines of the law. He stopped at a steampunk style shop and locked up the bike, pulling off the helmet and wincing at the brightness. He entered the store and immediately zeroed in on a display case of retro sunglasses, seeing a beautiful pair of shielded glass ones, with little panes of glasses covering the sides. 

“How much for these?” He called out to the shopkeeper, who was watching him with some interest. 

“200 each” He said, smirking 

“I want 5 pairs of these ones, if you please” The shopkeeper’s smirk slid off his face 

“That’s $1000, are you sure?” 

“Yes, and this bag” He held up a leather messenger bag that came with a pack of saddlebags for a motorbike. 

“Son, that’s going to be 2 grand” Frost nodded and waited whilst the man got the items from the back of the shop and rang them up. He tapped his card against the machine and left, hooking the saddlebags over the motor bike and slinging on the messenger bag. He placed the 4 spare sunglasses in a pocket in his bag and squeezed his eyes shut as tightly as they would go as he swapped sunglasses. He gingerly opened his eyes and smiled when no harsh light assaulted them. 

He roared off again, this time locating a phone store with a large apple on the front. He locked up the bike again and strolled into the building. He frowned at the bright lights and wove around the crowds of people inspecting the gadgets. He located an uniformed employee and spoke to her quietly. 

“What’s the best phone you have? 

15 minutes later and Frost strode back to his bike, one IPhone acquired along with an ‘Apple Watch’ on his wrist. He hadn’t meant to get an Apple Watch but the employee told him it was a good buy. She had helped him set the devices up too, and now the screens told him it was 9:20 on a Saturday. He asked the employee and she had told him the school year starts on Tuesday that week, so he had a couple of days to get his bearings. 

The new information directed him towards a Wal-Mart half an hour away, so he sped off and located the store. He parked near the doors as he arrived and thanked his new sunglasses for the protection as the sun shone down on him. He looked at the massive sign proclaiming the store name and chuckled at its absurdity. Due to that, he didn’t notice a woman and a teenage boy talking and coming straight for him until he hit them. 

“Oh, I am so sorry, we weren’t looking where we were going!” The woman apologised, smiling at him. The teenager didn’t say anything, he just looked at Frost with a strange expression on his face. 

“My bad, I wasn’t looking either. I’m sorry, I’m new here and I was just taking it in, y’know?” He smiled back at her and she laughed 

“You’re new! Just our luck we made a bad impression!” 

“Oh not at all” 

“Well, since you’re new here, allow me to introduce myself, I’m May and this is Peter!” Peter smiled awkwardly and gave a half wave. 

“Nice to meet you May, I’m Frost” 

“Where are you from, if you don’t mind me asking? Your accent is a little unknown to me!” 

“Oh, it’s Welsh, it’s where I came from, before I moved here” Frost hadn’t been asked that question in a literal Age. 

“Beautiful accent. Well it was lovely to meet you!” 

“And you” They smiled and parted ways. As Frost walked away, he could hear May talking to Peter.

“Peter? Why didn’t you say anything, he was so nice!” May asked as they walked away from Frost, and Peter resisted the urge to glance back at the retreating figure. 

“I didn’t need to, you had it handled” He said quietly, although he wish he had done something other than a stupid smile. 

“Is it because he was hot?” 

“May!” Peters face burned bright red 

“What! He was! Even I know that he was hot” 

“We are not having this conversation” May just laughed 

Frost trailed around the massive superstore, marvelling at the sheer number of items in the store. He grabbed some ingredients for a pizza recipe he had googled, as well as some necessities like a comb, toothpaste and a toothbrush. He scooped up several energy drinks that looked nice, next to some snacks, cereals and milk. He paid and sped back to the apartment with the goods in the newly bought saddlebags. 

A different man was in the elevator as he ascended up, and he thanked him and entered back into his flat. It was a new experience putting groceries away, but Frost liked it. He grabbed a cereal box and a milk carton and ate his first bite in several thousand years. It tasted sugary. 

He grabbed the bowl and sat down informing of the TV, navigating the controls slowly. Eventually he found a news channel and watched as a man called Stark pledged several million dollars for reconstruction efforts towards the people of a place called Sokovia. He watched in interest as a news reporter recapped the events of a disaster a few months ago, caused by a rogue robot and taken down by people in brightly colour suits, dubbed Avengers. 

He wondered if his Dullahan would ever take one of the Avengers. He imagined how it would go. They would fight, but no one could take down a Dullahan, and they would die. Would people see? The Dullahan didn’t like spectators. He would throw blood into their eyes and crack at them with his whip. It would be quite the spectacle. 

He finished his cereal and retreated into the study, where he spent the next 2 days learning about the modern world. Frost liked music. He downloaded an app on the computer and hooked it up to the speakers and had Post Malone providing background music to his research. He slept and ate and discovered. He found out what happened in 2012 and what the Avengers did, he found out what happened to Stark, Rogers and Banner. And saw commentary on Spider-Man, and his makeshift suit and blurry videos. Frost wondered what would happen if he took Spider-Man. Would he take the mask off? Or let him die anonymous? 

He also researched his new school, and what he should wear and what times he should arrive. He also emailed the administration, and let them know that the new student Frost would be wearing sunglasses and would be keeping them on due to a medical condition. They agreed. 

Frost went out again on Monday and got supplies for school. He would be using the laptop in the study mainly, but he needed textbooks. And by got were they expensive, even by his standards. 

He went to bed on Monday night feeling an unwelcome sense of uncertainty. 


	3. Midtown School of Science and Technology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New people, new faces

He woke up on Tuesday feeling nervous. That was strange, Frost didn’t get nervous. He pulled on a white shirt and jeans after his shower, still denying his nervousness. The cereal he had bought suddenly seemed unappetising as mud, so he only poured a small bowl. He scooped up his bag and slid on his sunglasses as he locked the apartment, and greeted the elevator control with a small wave.

As he descended down, he used his headphones that he had got free with his phone and played music. That calmed him down from not being nervous. He roared off on his bike a little more aggressively than the last two times, and spent the ride to the school reassuring himself that he was a supernatural demon and he shouldn’t be scared of humans.

As he neared the school he got caught up in traffic, and it gave him the chance to look around. Unfortunately his slowed pace gave everyone the chance to look at him too, and a student on a cool looking bike was a novel concept. Frost parked his bike in the student parking area, and subsequently drew the attention away from the small crowd that had gathered around another student's car. He pulled off his helmet and secured it to the bike as an annoyed looking boy pushed his way to the front of the small crowd.

“What are you all- oh damn that’s a nice bike” He stood frozen for a beat before acting nonchalant and strolling forwards as Frost crouched down by his bike to lock the bags.

“Hey, you new?”

“That I am” Frost said carefully

“Oh? We have a foreigner at our school! English are you?” He said loudly, drawing smiles from a few people

“No, Welsh”

“There’s a difference? Doesn’t matter, we beat you in the revolution anyway!”

“Oh? The American revolution? That was a good war. It seems you like to talk about war, so why not have a little one right here?” Frost rose to his full height and towered over the cocky boy, who was currently becoming less cocky by the second

“You see where I come from, fighting is a celebrated thing. And when it’s a common thing, you get quite good at it. So, Mr. American, would you like to demonstrate your country's fighting abilities?”

“Haha, just playing, man. You good!” He chuckled nervously and walked away. The crowd dispersed as the boy retreated, and Frost sensed he had just won some respect. 

“Holy shit is that the guy you were talking about?” Peter nodded quickly at Ned’s question “He is badass dude, what’s with those sunglasses?...Should we go talk to him?” Peter looked at him like he had grown 2 heads

“What? No! Why would we do that?”

“Because he doesn’t have anyone else? Plus, I bet Flash would leave us alone if he was with us”

“We don’t need a bodyguard, Ned!” 

Frost walked into the administration as the bell went, and they directed him towards a locker where he would get his timetable along with everybody else. He walked into the main hallway and was immediately struck with how many people there were. He pushed his way down the corridor and down to the locker with his number on it. He yanked it open with some difficulty and grabbed his timetable, looking at what textbooks he would need and dumping the ones he didn’t into the locker. First lesson would be physics. Easy. He grabbed the physics book and shut the locker to reveal the back of a boy's head next to him. The boy whipped around and smacked Frost in the face with his bag.

“I am so sorry!” The mortified apology came from none other than Peter from Wal-Mart

“All good!” Frost rubbed his jaw and smiled.

“Peter! Good to see you again!” Peter nodded and his friend appeared behind him

“Hi, I’m Ned, Peters told me about you!” Peter’s face flushed pink and he shot a betrayed look st his friend

“I hope it was good stuff. Anyway, do any of you have physics first? I don’t know where it is”

“Uh, we both do, you can come with us if you want” Peters face was still red as they started to walk towards the physics room and Ned told Frost about the LEGO Death Star he was hoping to get

“I actually haven’t seen Star Wars, I need to” Peter lost all awkwardness

“Really? You so need to!” He pleaded

“Yeah, my parents didn’t let me watch anything that much, so I’m pretty behind on pop culture. Do you have any recommendations?” They reached the physics room and sat in a row near the back. Peter and Ned passed him recommendations for comics, tv shows and movies throughout the lesson and Frost collected them in a pocket of his bag. Frost found the lesson simple and judging by Peter and Ned’s uninterested looks, so did they.

The day passed quickly and Frost berated himself for how nervous he was that morning. Lunch rolled around and they each got lunch trays and sat at an empty table.

“What is your opinion on the Avengers?” Ned asked Frost as he was taking a long drink of milk, and he almost choked.

“I think they’re pretty cool, saving the world and all that”

“Who’s your favourite?” Frost thought a bit, swirling his remaining milk around inside the carton. He decided on who resonated with the most

“Bruce Banner’s pretty cool” Ned nodded slowly

“Good choice, my personal favourite is Hawkeye”

“What about you, Peter?” Peter, who had been looking at a girl eating lunch with her friends, jumped.

“Oh, Uh… Iron Man”

“I get that. What he did at the Stark Expo was pretty cool” Frost remarked, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

“Hey man, if you don’t mind me asking, why do you wear those glasses?” Peter asked, taking a sip of his own milk

“Medical condition, pretty annoying but it’s funny when teachers ask you to take them off and you hit them with the ‘its because I have a health issue sir’ and they go blank” They both laughed and Frost spent the rest of the day on cloud 9.

It was relieving, stepping through the door to his apartment and into the quietness of his house. He had felt a stirring in his chest near the end of the day, and Frost knew the Dullahan was eager to get out. He tossed his possessions on the side table and let it out, feeling his legs go weak.

He crashed to the ground and led there motionless for a beat, before his Dullahan rose and took control. He stood up and Frost’s head was engulfed in smoke as it disappeared. His Dullahan could hold his head instead of letting it dissolve into smoke but apparently it was feeling in a specific mood.

He changed clothes with one quick snap and he vanished. The wind was suddenly pressing at them from the west and they were in California. The leather armour he wore protected him from the coming nights cold as green smoke began to rise from his neck and it drew the whip from its position on its belt. The white object was formed out of a human spine and twice as long as Frost was high. It cracked the whip in a fluid motion, swinging it over his shoulders and down behind him. The crack was sharp and loud, and the ground shook as the hooves of horses could be heard in the distance.

A massive black horse ran from the darkness as the Dullahan waited. He swung onto the horse and they rode for miles, visible to no one except their next victim.

The two slowed on the edge of a large park, and the air seemed to freeze around a young woman with another man. They both stood frozen when they saw him, and as the Dullahan spoke their names they crashed into the dirt. He did this twice more around California, taking 8 souls in total. Job done for the day, the Dullahan prepared to give control over to Frost, so they could get home. Frost had been watching the proceedings, cringing with every death but unable to take control. They stood in place for a moment as they prepared for a control switch and made themselves visible to all.

“Stop right there” A red and gold figure shot into view, obviously having chased him across the state and interrupting their switch.

“What the hell are you?” The voice came from inside the metal clad figure, and Frost recognised him as Iron Man. With no reply, Iron Man swooped down and raised a hand, a blue circle in the middle becoming brighter.

“You are under arrest for the murder of 8 people tonight” Frost groaned and knew that the Dullahan wouldn’t take that very kindly. But it seemed to be in a good mood tonight so it just gathered the reins and prepared to ride away. Iron Man saw this and let off a repulsor blast. The blue energy blasted into Frost’s shoulder and rippled away harmlessly.

“What the f-“ Whatever Iron Man was going to say was cut off as the Dullahan shot off like a bullet. Stark gave chase but the smoke engulfed Frost and they vanished, reappearing in New England. Control was quickly passed over to Frost and he said goodbye to the horse as they vanished.

The apartment had never been so welcome as they appeared inside, and Frost’s head was back on and his leather armour was replaced by his old clothes which was replaced by flannel pajamas. He completed his bedtime routine in a daze, mumbling about how he almost killed Iron Man. He grabbed his phone as he flopped into bed, browsing reddit for an hour before succumbing to sleep.


	4. Playing with Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stand up for yourself, man

The next morning he awoke, hoping last night's activities had been a dream. The scattered clothes on the floor proved him wrong. He cleared up the clothes and shoved them all in a laundry basket as he drank a smoothie he had bought the other day. As he was rifling through the pockets of his jacket, he found a small device gripping onto the fabric. He shrieked and crushed it between his fingers, looking around fearfully as if Iron Man was about to appear in his flat at that very moment. He took a sip of smoothie for comfort and inspected the remains of the device, noting the Stark logo printed on the side. A serial number was printed on the side, and Frost whipped out his phone and googled it. He almost cried out with relief at the product listed. Stark microphone. So Iron Man didn’t know where he lived. Small victories. He crushed the device into dust with his smoothie glass and swept it into the bin. 

The school was abuzz with conversation as Frost approached Peter at their lockers.

“What’s everyone talking about?” Peter looked at him incredulously 

“Didn’t you hear? 8 people were murdered last night!” Frost raised his eyebrows in an attempt at surprise 

“Peter, don’t take this the wrong way… but isn’t that not uncommon in America” Peter scrunched up his face in thought 

“Well yes but the thing is… nobody knows how they died! They all just dropped dead a couple of minutes apart!” Frost fiddled with his keys nervously 

“That’s crazy,” He said lamely.

“Do you reckon it would happen in Queens?” Peter theorised 

“I doubt it. Besides, Queens has Spider-Man” Peter nodded absently. They joined up with Ned and walked into their English class together as the bell rang, where Ned asked him if he had tried any of their recommendations last night.

“Oh no, sorry. I was out all last night. That’s why I didn’t hear about the murders” Ned nodded and Peter opened his mouth to make a comment when the cocky boy from the previous day strutted up.

“Hey! New boy!” He turned around to face the idiot, who had stopped in front of Frost’s desk with his arms crossed. 

“I have a name,” He said slowly, unwilling to provoke conflict.

“Yeah, but I don’t care, so yeah. I need you to move your bike, one of my friends wants to park next to me and you’re in the way” 

“No” He said shortly and turned back around. The idiot spluttered in outrage, unused to being denied his every wish.

“It wasn’t a request! Move the bike or I’ll move it for you!” Frost slowly turned back around, and the idiot boy could see his reflection in the black glass of the sunglasses. 

“I wouldn’t advise you to touch that bike, boy. It’s worth more than your inheritance if your parents won the lottery” 

“What? That old hunk of metal outside isn’t worth the dirt on my shoe. Nobody pays shit for little engines that don’t go near 100 miles an hour” Frost laughed, a grating, harsh laugh that drew the 3 people in the packed classroom’s attention to the scene playing out in front of them. 

“Is that a challenge, boy?” The idiot nodded with as much confidence as he could muster in front of the class. 

“You bet your English ass it is! After school, on Friday, we go to the old raceway down south and settle this” Frost laughed once more, the harshness telling the idiot that maybe this wasn’t the best idea.

“You’re on. But proper opponents should know the other's name! My name is Frost, good to have known you” He seized the others hand and stood up, shaking it with a tight grip. 

“My name’s Flash” The other said, attempting to match Frost’s grip and failing miserably.

“See you on Friday then, Flash” Frost achieved the difficult task of making someone’s own name sound like an insult, which was noticed by many in the class as the teacher rushed in, muttering apologies about her lateness and cursing the Queens traffic. The tension broke as she bustled in, and prepared to start the day of education. This preparation was interrupted when Frost called after Flash, who was moving to his seat whilst murmuring to his friends.

“Oh and Flash?” The entire class whipped back to face Frost, who was looking at Flash with a grin on his face. The startled boy looked back at Frost. “I have a Welsh ass, try not to forget next time” He nodded at the boy who looked like a deer caught in headlights. 

“Oh yeah, that’s what I meant” His attempts at saving face were futile as Frost completely ignored Flash and instead focused on the teacher, who was currently writing her name upon the whiteboard. As soon as they were set a writing task, Peter and Ned rounded on Frost.

“What the hell did you just do!” Frost looked at him with a ‘What?’ expression as he typed on his laptop.

“Don’t look at me like that! You just challenged Flash to a race!” Frost finished typing and faced Peter 

“Peter, don’t worry about it. It’ll play out and I guarantee Flash will leave us alone no matter what happens” 

“‘Us’? What do you mean ‘us’? You’re the one with the problem with him!” 

“You think I haven’t noticed how he looked at you? And how you look at him? You’ve got history, Peter, and I can tell it’s not good” He smiled and went back to his laptop. Peter sat frozen for a beat before turning to Ned and whispering quieter.

“Did he just admit he’s doing this for you?” Ned asked

“What? No, he’s doing this so we’ll all be left alone. You’re overthinking this!” Ned smirked and went back to his desk, leaving Peter to wonder if Frost had done this for him.

The rest of the week flew past, and by Friday last period half the school had heard of the race that was about to happen, so naturally half the school wanted to go. Frost was approached all week, by students and teachers alike, asking if the race really was going to happen, and every time he responded with:

“Of course, the old raceway is where it’s at. Come watch!”

On the Thursday night before the race, Frost rode out as the Dullahan in Nevada and Virginia to calm the antsy demon in his chest. Iron Man was apparently busy that night, so it took 9 souls unhindered and unchallenged. Frost loathed every kill, but understood it was necessary to meet the quota imposed by the Void and stop the wave of Dullahans that would undoubtedly come to America if the quota was not met.

Frost was not worried by the event. If he won, he won and if he lost, so be it. 

Peter, on the other hand, was a mess. He had just met a man who was willing to risk his life over a petty dispute, and he was worried about him. He kept trying to talk him out of it, but Frost would not be swayed, and proclaimed that this school looked like it needed a bit of excitement, so here he was. There was also the matter of transport for a short period, but it was solved easily by Peter’s friend MJ, who told him to stop worrying and that she’ll take him. 

The bell signalling the end of the day rang, and Peter's heart rose into his mouth. He looked over to Frost, who was finishing up typing the chemistry notes and nudged him as they packed up. 

“You know you can still back out of this, right?” Frost looked at him with a small smile 

“Come on Peter, we both know I couldn’t.” Peter couldn’t find the words to reply. 

It seemed the whole school was piling into the parking lot as they exited, and as he bid his temporary farewells to Frost as he made his way over to MJ, Peter felt in his heart that this would happen one way or another, so he may as well accept it and do his best to ride it out. 

Frost watched as Peter got into his friend’s car, the one he had introduced as MJ, and smiled as they waited with the rest of the school for Flash to lead the way. He pulled on his helmet and flipped the visor down, starting up his engine as he straddled his bike. He peeled out after Flash as the silver car, all seats filled with Flash’s entourage, drove out of the school lot. The rest of the student cars followed him, most filled to capacity with students. Frost figured that most had sorted out rides during the week, and felt a strange feeling in his chest at the thought. The massive line of cars drove through the heart of Queens, and many a car stopped to spectate the sight. Police cars eventually drove near, but since they were breaking no laws they were left unhindered. The police eventually peeled off as they neared the raceway, and Frost looked up at the large billboard proclaiming ‘Barbagallo raceway’ in faded black. The rusty gates were broken through, and a group of older students proclaimed themselves the show runners and directed each racer towards an individual pit stop 40 meters apart, telling them to wait until someone came to get them. Frost drove into the darkened area and put his kickstand up, pulling off his helmet and shaking his hair out free, the previously neat style now reduced to a brown mess. He held the helmet in his hands, gazing at the protective Kevlar. He came to a decision and placed the helmet onto a nearby work table, along with his saddlebags, school bag and jacket, leaving him in just a white shirt, jeans and sunglasses. 

“Frost!” Peter came running through the back of the pit stop with Ned and MJ in tow. 

“Peter! Ned! MJ?” She responded with an upwards nod and a wave. Peter grabbed his hand, holding it tightly in front of him. 

“Are you all good to do this? They haven’t talked to you or done anything? I can ride instead, if you want?” Frost laughed, but different to the laugh he gave Flash. This one was much softer. 

“Peter, I love you man, but you’ve never ridden a motorbike in your life. And it wouldn’t be right if someone rode instead of me. That’s why I’m not wearing a helmet” Everyone present erupted in outrage

“YOU’RE WHAT?” Peter was the loudest, and he drowned out both Ned and MJ, who had surprisingly expressed her displeasure at the decision. 

“If you crash-!” 

“Peter, if I crash I’m going to die no matter what I’m wearing on my head. My body’ll be torn to shreds by the road. I’d rather die than be like that” Peter almost ripped his hair out 

“But you have to wear a helmet! You’ll- You’ll get dust in your eyes or something!” Peter knew he was clutching at straws now, but he couldn’t let Frost go out there without a fight. 

“I have my glasses” He tapped the black glass, which glinted in the dim light of the pit stop.

“That won’t do anything! They’ll smash with a hit from a pebble!” He said desperately. Frost shrugged.

“I can’t just whip out a pair of goggles, can I?”

“I may have a solution to that problem, actually” MJ spoke up from the back, and the group turned to her. 

“I’ll be right back” She dropped her bag and ran out of the stop. Frost made a ‘see?’ motion with his hands and Peter’s shoulders slumped down in defeat. Frost opened his mouth to reassure him, but the rising noise from outside caught his attention. 

“Is that….?” Ned asked, hearing the same things 

“That sounds like a lot of people” Frost confirmed 

“But why? No offence Frost, but this is just a race between people in our year. Why is everyone else interested?” Ned stepped in to offer his take 

“It’s drama and entertainment, teenagers love that combo” He said wisely 

“Oh my god, look how many live-streams there are right now” Peter said incredulously, staring at his phone in disbelief. Frost leaned over his shoulder and true enough, over 40 live-streams were displaying the event, with the most popular having over 700 people watching. 

“Holy shit” Was all Frost said as MJ came running back. In her hands she held a pair of vintage motorbike goggles, which she thrust towards Frost. 

“Had them… for ages…” She panted, obviously having run from here to her car and back. He accepted the goggles with a grateful thank you, which she waved away, and examined them. He delighted at the tint of the lenses, and promptly switched them out from his sunglasses. 

“How do I look?” He asked, spreading his arms out wide. 

“Dashing” Was all Peter said, as a student came jogging in from outside.

“Well, racer, are you ready?” She said, and Frost nodded

“I am now” He pushed the goggles on his forehead and put his sunglasses back on

“Well follow me then”


	5. Mortal Coil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are better left untouched

It was like walking out into an area. The now massive crowd of students yelled and cheered in the wooden stands as Frost and Flash came out, and the thunderous applause was deafening. Peter and Ned followed him out as he pushed the bike out, MJ claiming she didn’t want to be live-streamed. Flash’s crew were all in his car as he drove to the starting line, but they all jumped out as he stopped, wishing him good luck and hopping into the stands. 

“Well I guess this is where you go” Frost said, a wave of nerves suddenly washing over him. 

“Yeah I guess, good luck” Ned gave him a hi-five and waited for Peter. Peter opened his mouth briefly before enveloping him in a crushing hug.

“Don’t die” He whispered into his ear, before breaking apart and walking back to the stands to MJ and another girl who made Peter blush when he saw her. 

A student came out and made sure their tyres were behind the line, and Frost swapped his sunglasses for the goggles, tossing the sunglasses to Peter in the stands. He waved to the crowd who roared louder and mounted the bike, starting the engine as an older student approached them.

“3 laps of the track, any foul play and you will be disqualified and shamed. Good luck to you both” She stood in the middle of the vehicles and raised a tattered checkered flag, pausing before swinging it downwards, starting the race with a cloud of dust.

Frost roared off, not bothering to look at Flash as he flew past the flag. The crowd went even louder as the racers pulled away. The motorbike sounded like heaven to him as he tore away. He glanced to Flash and saw that they were neck and neck on the oval shaped track. Frost knew that he was at a disadvantage because he was on the outside, so he set out to correct that.

Opening the throttle, he gained ground against Flash and felt the wind fly through his hair, blasting it back. He crept in front of the silver car and overtook him as he got to the turn. He heard Flash start to drift as they scorched past the stands, the crowds yells becoming nothing to him. He heard Flash drifts and copied, kicking up dirt into the silver car’s open top and pulling away further from him.

They finished the corner and started out straight again. To the others' horror, Flash started to creep up behind Frost again, the driver determined to take the lead. He pushed the bike further and the gap that was closing behind him started to open again. The ground flew by, the dirt track flying up behind the respective racers wheels. They reached the other side of the track and prepared to turn. An odd groaning noise came from the dirt as they passed, causing both racers to look at the dirt in confusion as they sped along.

The crowd cheered as they flashed past, obviously having not heard the noises from the track. They came to straight track again and Frost furthered the distance between the two vehicles, now almost 3 meters between them. The wind smashing onto his face was almost painful, and Frost thanked his lucky stars that he wasn’t behind Flash, in the nasty cloud of dirt that the silver car was kicking up.

Every breath he took was crusted with dirt, but Frost felt happier than he had felt in 3000 years. He wasn’t leaving Earth anytime soon, the Void would have to drag his cold, dead body back. His white shirt streamed behind him as they reached the next corner, and Frost risked a look back at Flash. The boy’s face was a mask of determination, mixed with a hint of uncertainty. They drifted around the corner, the gap now becoming almost 5 meters wide, and as they finished the corner Frost flattened his body further down onto the bike, the reduced resistance giving him another meter in distance on the other car.

They came to the corner again and the dirt beneath the two racers gave an ominous crunch beneath Frost, and a loud crack below Flash. This time the spectators heard the noises, and as the two passed around the corner and away from the groaning dirt, the students started to call out to the racers about something. But of course the wind whipping past their ears took away any sound that wasn’t in their immediate vicinity, and the calls from the crowd went unnoticed. They roared past on the straight path and the many students yelling things they really should’ve heard were deaf to their ears.

Frost grinned as he gained another couple of meters on Flash, bringing the total to almost 11 meters of distance. The student who started the race ran out with a checkered flag, but the racers took that as a sign of the last lap and increased their speed even further.

The students, now frantic, started to yell and scream at the two, and unbeknownst to Frost Flash’s phone rang but he ignored it. They reached the drift point and Frost made the distance 15 meters on Flash. They drifted around the corner, and finally saw what the crowd was yelling at. A massive cave in had occurred right over the track, 10 meters long and as wide as the whole track. They both hit the brakes but at such speeds it was futile. Flash managed to stop a meter shy of the edge, but Frost was flung into the hole.

Time seemed to stop as he fell, and he gripped the handlebars tightly in preparation for the horrible death that he was surely about to meet. The crowd screamed in horror as he fell, and Frost's legs flew out beside him as he cursed his luck, as surely the Dullahan’s wouldn’t allow him to come back to Earth after being killed on day 2. The ground rushed closer, and he closed his eyes. A massive jerk forced them open again, as an unseen force latched onto his legs and halted his descent. He held onto the bike with every ounce of strength in his body as the force stretched out, causing him to fall slowly and possibly spring back up. He was dragged up sharply by the force and came face to face with Spider-Man as he was pulled out of the hole by his ankles.

The crowd screamed in delight as he was revealed, and Spider-Man stuck his tether holding his ankles to an overhead light. He passed his bike to the hero, who took it and set in down on the ground. He waved at the crowd good naturedly, who yelled back at the recognition. He waited as Spider-Man cut his tether and lowered him to the side of the hole, and pulled the red and blue clad figure into a hug. 

“You just saved my life, I owe you big time” He pulled apart from the onesied figure as a Flash ran over. 

“Frost! Are you good?” He yelled from the other side of the hole. Frost gave the thumbs up sign to him, and faced the crowd. He gave the same treatment to them, who yelled in celebration. Spider-Man shook his hand once, before swinging away over the raceway walls. He shrugged and wiped his face with his hand, starting at the blood that came away. He pulled out his sunglasses and checked his reflection in the polished glass, seeing a cut from his left temple to his cheekbone. He laughed and swapped the goggles for the sunglasses, being careful to avoid the cut. Peter, MJ and Ned ran over from the other side of the track, and together they grabbed their bags and walked over to the exit. A student with a phone recording ran up to Frost

“How did you survive that fall?” She demanded, obviously asking for evidence in case of people claiming hoax.

“Spider-Man saved the day, that’s all I can say. He’s better than Iron Man if you ask me” Frost said, smiling at the student who took that as a sign to clear off. She thanked him and ran back to her friends. Peter opened his mouth to talk, but was cut off by a shake of her head from MJ. The school started to file out of the stands, and the group drove out of the parking lot just as the main bulk of the student body hit.

-=-

MJ led the way to a Peters house at his request, where she and Ned left after they arrived, claiming homework was piling up. Peter and Frost walked up to the former’s flat together, where a worried May was waiting, having not heard of the race and wondering why Peter was coming home late with the boy from last week bleeding from his head. Peter quickly explained the situation to her as the shock set into Frost as he sat at a bench with a glass of water in his hand. May quickly switched into mother mode, and switched out Frosts water for tea and sat him down in the kitchen to have his cut cleaned. 

“Do you want me to call your parents, Frost? They must be worried sick” Frost swallowed uncomfortably as May gave him his tea. 

“Oh uh, they’re not around anymore” May sucked in a breath 

“Oh, they’re dead? I am so sorry for asking, that must be so horrible” Frost cast his eyes downward at the floor, not that May could see with his sunglasses on.

“Oh no, they left me a year or so ago” May’s hands stilled as she got out her first aid kit. She came over and hugged him silently as Peter looked on, a sad expression on his face.

“They don’t deserve you, sweetie” May said quietly as Frost thought of his parents, who had abandoned him when they heard he was being put on trial for demon consorting. He fell shortly after, as they cut off all contact with him and never showed their faces to him again. He spent his first thousand years in the Void wandering around desperately, calling out for his mother and siblings, apologising to a father that couldn’t hear him. He was brought back to reality when May pulled away from their gentle hug and asked him to take his sunglasses off. Peter quickly stepped in, explaining to May his condition and why he couldn’t take the glasses off. 

“Well we need them off to look at the cut, the arms are blocking it. Peter could you draw the curtains, please?” Soon the apartment was bathed in darkness, the only light coming from a warm orange lamp that Frost said was ok. The glasses were carefully taken off, and Frost’s eyes were exposed, the colours shocking the Parkers, for his left eye was a beautiful gold and his right was a smooth mix of green and blue. 

“It’s a shame you have to wear these glasses, your eyes are beautiful” May complimented as Frost rested the side of his head against the bench, leaving the left side of his face exposed. Peter taught him noughts and crosses as May worked, and they were both shocked at his lack of knowledge regarding the game. Consequently, Peter thrashed Frost at the simple game, who took it gracefully. May tutted worriedly when she saw Frost’s hands, and Frost started too. The gripping of the motorbike had torn a lot of skin off his palm, leaving it bloody and dirty. She vowed to do that next as she fixed up his head. The teenagers grew bored of noughts and crosses, and instead moved onto talking about the days events.

“I wonder how Spider-Man got there so quickly” Frost mused as May finished up on his head and moved onto his hands. 

“Must’ve seen all those live-streams” Peter joked, and Frost nodded thoughtfully as he sat up and held out his hands

“Good job he did though, or I’d be a stain at the bottom on that hole” Peter grimaced at the mental image 

“Ugh, don’t. I guess that’s why they closed down the raceway” Frost laughed softly again, wincing slightly as May swiped his hand with alcohol wipes.

“Well, as they say, hindsight is 20/20” This time it was Peter’s turn to laugh, and he did so whilst refilling Frost’s drink. 

“So, where did you watch the race, Peter” May asked as she wrapped Frost’s left hand and moved onto his right.

“Oh I, Uh, found a place near the top of the bleachers” He shuffled around the kitchen noisily, and slid Frost his drink along with a cookie. Frost nodded gratefully and sipped the tea with his newly bandaged hand. 

“Oh so you saw Spider-Man come over the top?” Peter swallowed and took a sip of his own drink 

“Uh, Yeah. He came over at the very last minute actually” He laughed nervously and relaxed when Frost changed the subject

“I’m glad it’s Friday, though. I couldn’t have gone into school tomorrow” Peter nodded in acquiescence.

“Yeah, it would be too weird. Although I feel like you need to be around people when things like this happen ” They sat in comfortable silence as May finished Frost’s right hand, patting it gently. 

“Thank you so much, May. For everything. And you Peter” He stood up and put his sunglasses on over the small patch May had put on over the cut. Peter took this as an OK to open the curtains, and they all started in surprise when it didn’t get much brighter. 

“It’s night? Wow, time does fly” Frost prepared to leave

“Well I guess I best be heading off. Thank you so much, again” May held up her hands

“Oh come on, Frost. Don’t be daft. You can stay the night here” Frost spluttered 

“Oh I couldn’t possibly-“ Peter cut him off 

“Rubbish, we have the room! Come on, we’ll watch Star Wars!” 

And so a movie marathon took place. They drew the curtains again and Frost took off his sunglasses as they crashed down in front of the TV. From episode IV to VI, they watched the trilogy through the night, being sustained by Doritos and hot chocolate. They started dozing off at the end of the Return of the Jedi, and as it finished Peter barely made it to his bedroom as Frost dozed off on the couch.


	6. Friends?

The next morning, Peter woke up with dorito crumbs on his t-shirt and hot chocolate stains around his mouth, and he staggered blearily to the bathroom to wake himself up. The shower he took was refreshing, and he walked out with a towel around his waist to see Frost snoring on the couch as May tried not to laugh as she ate her toast. Peter yelped and dived into his bedroom to get dressed, only emerging when he was decent. 

When he walked back out, he worried about the undrawn curtains and the light flooding the apartment, but May simply pointed to a small scarf she had placed over their guest’s eyes and Peter nodded understandingly. 

Frost would not wake despite the unintended noise Peter made when he knocked over a chair, and Peter was about to shake him gently when Frost’s eyes flew open and he said the following words in the thickest Welsh accent Peter had ever heard. 

“We got no beer left, is what I said you bastard” But of course neither May nor Peter understood a word of this, and all they heard was some incoherent ramblings. Frost, now realising that he couldn’t see anything due to the scarf over his eyes, threw it off and then promptly shrieked and slammed his face into the sofa at the bright light that assaulted his face. 

All this happened in the space of less than ten seconds to Peter's immense entertainment. He giggled childishly as he shoved toast into his mouth, and Frost grumbled long Welsh words in frustration as he failed to locate his sunglasses. Peter stuffed his mouth with the rest of the toast and placed Frost’s sunglasses in his flailing hand, grabbing the white wrapped limb and closing around the frames. Frost thanked him and screwed his eyes shut as he slid them on, blinking and taking in his surroundings as he awoke. 

“Oh right, I’m at your house” He said to Peter, and a loud cracking noise could be heard as the man stretched. 

“Morning, Frost. Care for some toast” Peter offered the plate to Frost, who politely declined 

“Sorry, I’m not a big fan. I’ll get something on the way home” Actually Frost didn’t know if he was a fan of toast or not. He just hadn’t tasted it before and didn’t want to spit it out in front of his gracious hosts. 

“Oh you have to go so soon?” May smiled sadly 

“Well actually, I was hoping you wouldn’t mind if Peter and I went out today, if that’s ok with you Peter?” Peter nodded eagerly.

“I don’t see why not. You won’t stay for breakfast?” 

“I need to have a shower, and I would rather not change back into my dusty clothes. Thank you so much though, May.” Frost said all this whilst pulling his shoes back on, and Peter rushed to grab his own shoes. 

“Don’t worry about it, honey. We’re always here if you need us” They hugged gently and Peter said his goodbyes as he grabbed his keys and phone, jogging after Frost who was carrying all his gear out to his bike. He waited at the end of the hallway, and they went down to his bike together. 

“So, where are we going?” Peter asked as he waited for Frost to reattach all the saddlebags to the bike. 

“Back to my place first, then just out and about for a bit.” He straightened up and handed Peter his helmet, slipping the goggles over his own face and putting the sunglasses away. 

“Wait, we’re going on your bike? Is it, y’know, safe for me to go on?” 

“Peter, what else would we go on? It’s perfectly safe if you have a helmet!” Frost mounted the bike and gestured for Peter to copy, who did so gingerly as he put on the helmet which smelt of a weird conditioner. He started off with one arm around Frost’s waist, but as they pulled away from the apartment, he quickly switched to two arms. 

He focused on breathing evenly as they roared around the streets, his heart lurching at the sharp turns. He could hear Frost laughing as he drove, which caused him to relax slightly. Before Peter knew it, they were in front of a luxury high rise apartment building, and gasped as they pulled into the underground garage. 

“You live here?” Peter asked incredulously as they stopped, and Frost took the helmet from him. 

“Yeah, it’s where they left me” he gave a half smile to Peter and they walked up to the lift together, Peter's mouth permanently hanging open as he gazed at the Bentley’s and the Mercedes’ parked around. 

His amazement was even higher as they walked into Frost’s apartment, the black and grey colour scheme giving it a sophisticated feel. The expensive electronics gleamed as Peter walked past.

“I mean, I knew you were rich from the bike, but this is on another level!” Frost smiled as he walked into his bedroom 

“Well you’re always welcome here, Peter. Take a look around, if you want” Peter heard a shower being turned on, and took his advice. He looked in every room, marvelling at the expensive feel to it all. He frowned at the contents of the fridge, the energy drinks and smoothie ingredients worrying him slightly. Unknown to Peter, ever since Frost had tried the cereal he had bought at the Wal-Mart, he had grimaced at the weird feeling of chewing after several thousand years of just consuming liquids. He had then emptied his fridge of all solid foodstuffs and bought a blender and ingredients for smoothies. 

“Hey, Peter? Could you do something for me?” Peter looked up at the bedroom door 

“Uh, Yeah sure?”

“Could you look under the sink and grab the new packet of washing up gloves, and the duct tape in the drawer next to it?” Extremely confused, Peter did as he was told and brought the items to the bedroom door. 

“Uh, can I ask what for?” 

“It’s for my hands, I don’t want them to get wet” Frost opened the door a crack, and Peter could see the room was shrouded in darkness. He handed over the items and the door was shut quickly.

“Thanks a bunch, Pete”

Frost came out 10 mins later, dressed in a simple blue dress shirt and navy waistcoat with jeans. 

“So, where are we going?” Peter asked as they descended into the garage

“There’s a carnival up north, if you wanna go?” Peter’s heart sank slightly. He had left his wallet at home, with his paltry 10 dollars tucked inside. 

“I left my wallet at home” He said quietly 

“I didn’t ask if you had money. Don’t worry about it, I’ll pay” Frost waved away his concerns 

“No, I couldn’t take money from you-“ Peter protested 

“Peter, this is me paying you back for last night! And besides, it’s my parents money! I wanna spend it!” Peter could hardly deny him after that. 


	7. Seeing, not believing

The fairground was packed, and they had to wait in a long line of parents and their prams to get in. Frost promptly said ‘No thanks’ and they ran around the back, vaulting the security fence easily. They didn’t get a paper wristband, but Peter said they’ve never checked them as long as he’s been there. 

They wandered around the Showgrounds and spent outrageous amounts of money on games, winning quite a few. Peter was king at the rope bridge, not falling off even when it tipped upside down. 

Frost set a new carnival record with how long he stayed on the mechanical bull, letting his Dullahan come out whilst still remaining in control and with his head on. It was a useful skill to have, to be like that, and Frost prided himself on that skill. He had learnt it whilst in the Void during the Dark Hours, as having a sword and whip was a good deterrent as well as fighting skills, although this time Frost didn’t bring out the gear and stayed in his clothes. 

They both did well at the throwing games, with Peter having the edge on accuracy and Frost the edge on power. 

They gave away every prize they won, as they couldn’t take them all home on the bike. Peter, however, did keep a small bear Frost gave him. He jokingly said they had the same eyes. The eyes in question were scattered with sparkles and were a bright blue. Peter held onto it tightly, feeling a warm fuzzy sensation in his chest. 

They bought churros and wandered over to the farm section, where a farmer was showing a large crowd how to crack a whip. Frost quietly grumbled at her form, and when Peter questioned him, he said that he had lived in a place where they used them a lot. 

It was the quickest response he could come up with in the span of a second, and subsequently it was awful. Peter raised an eyebrow and spoke skeptically, telling him how weird that sounded. Frost, in an attempt to cover his mistakes, pointed out the horse riding section and told him he could also do that. Peter’s eyebrows raised even further, and suggested that he should try it then. Frost accepted and they went over, paying for both of them to try. 

The Dullahan inside of Frost perked up at the horses, and attempted to take control and ride one. Frost tamped it down firmly and mounted a large horse gracefully, unlike Peter who jerked up stiffly and sat there atop the horse rigidly. 

Frost told the instructor he was experienced with horses, so she let them ride alone around the fenced off area at his request, possibly helped along by a fifty dollar note that was dropped onto the ground. 

They trotted gently around the area, with Peter mumbling the instructions that Frost had told him over and over again. They rode around for several minutes, with Peter eventually relaxing and enjoying himself, until their time was rudely interrupted by the sight of several cops walking towards the horse area. 

“Peter, Peter, look!” The boy caught sight of the cops and went white. 

“I think someone saw us jumping the fence,” He said quickly. As they spoke, the cops started to move into the fenced off area, eyes fixed upon them. 

“Let’s go, quick” They slid off the horses and jumped the fence, looking back once to see the cops start to run at the sight of them escaping. They bolted towards the largest crowd they could see, and dived straight into it. 

Frost grabbed Peter's hand to stop them getting separated and they pushed their way through the throng of bodies. Peter tripped on discarded rubbish, but Frost dragged him up again by their held hands. They ran out the other side of the crowd and moved into the showground stalls, seeing more cops on the patrol, who also spotted them and ran after them. 

Frost cursed and they ran towards the information building, pushing past the lost tourists and volunteers and into the dark hallways in the back of the building. They could hear the cops running after them, and they moaned in frustration as they came to a dead end. Peter pushed through a door and came to a maintenance room with the lights off. 

“No no no, we’re gonna get caught. Shit shit shit” Frost closed the door and ripped off his glasses to see better in the darkness. Peter stood by the entrance, thinking furiously.

“Peter, we need to hide! Don’t just stand there!” Peter said nothing and just grabbed him around the waist as the cops approached. 

He said a quick ‘hold on to me’ before jumping up and clinging to the ceiling with nothing but his fingertips. Frost went to cry out but was silenced by something smacking onto his face and sealing his mouth shut. 

Peter held him close and flattened himself to the ceiling as two cops burst into the room, flicking on the light that was next to Frost’s unprotected eyes. 

Peter clapped a hand over Frost’s eyes as the light flashed into them, and he would’ve yelled out if he didn’t have a strange substance over his mouth. The cops swept the room quickly, not bothering to look up to the ceiling, and left without turning the light off. 

They waited in silence for a minute, barely breathing, before hearing the cops leave the building. Well Peter heard. 

He carefully lowered the gagged friend down to the floor for the second time in two days, and flicked the light off with a web shooter. 

He uncovered Frost’s eyes, and the friend blinked his eyes open slowly, timidly braving the almost pitch blackness. He gestured to his gagged mouth with a hand and Peter realised his predicament and nodded, grabbing a screwdriver and gently cutting a hole in the middle. Frost ripped the web off with his hands using the hole as a starting point, and looked at Peter with a amazed expression on his face.

“Your Spider-Man? That was you, yesterday?” Peter nodded nervously, awaiting judgement.

“You have any idea how cool that is?” He said excitedly and Peter relaxed, thankful that he wasn’t mad

“It’s pretty cool, I guess”

“You could be one of the Avengers!” Peter let himself entertain the thought for a second, before dismissing it 

“Nah, I don’t think they’re recruiting right now” He said, referencing the tension that had been the subject of many news reports recently. 

“Huh, Yeah I guess” They walked out of the building together, Frost’s sunglasses firmly over his eyes, and Frost drove them back to Peters apartment as dusk crept upon them. 

“Thank you for today, really. It was great” Frost smiled 

“No problem, I had a great time too. Like I said, you’re always welcome at my place” Peter thanked him 

“See you on Monday, I guess?” 

“Yeah, see you Monday, Spider-Man” He said, and his soft Welsh accent stayed with Peter as he drove away. 


	8. If Truth Were Known

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Salad Days

Frost drove home with a heavy heart. Peter, one of the people who he come to consider a close friend, was Spider-Man. And he was a murderer. The Dullahan inside him was peaceful at the moment, and Frost didn’t know whether to curse it or be thankful for it. It was part of him, and it wasn’t ever going away. His apartment was quiet as he walked in, the silence calming his head. He made a fruit smoothie and crashed down onto the sofa, cursing his wrapped hands as the glass he held threatened to slip between his fingers. 

Gloves, he needed gloves. He browsed Amazon for leather gloves as the TV blared on in front of him. He bought a pair in the gauntlet style and looked up at the TV just as it changed to breaking news.

“This just in, the Vienna International Centre has just been bombed where there was a conference to discuss the Sokovia accords. More than seventy people have been injured. At least twelve are dead, including Wakanda's King T'Chaka. Officials have released a video of a suspect who they have identified as James Buchanan Barnes, also known as the Winter Soldier.” The news anchor said gravely, and it cut to a helicopter shot of a smoking building, presumably the bombed building. 

He winced sympathetically and opened his phone again, anonymously donating $100,000 dollars to the official fundraiser for relief efforts. His worries about the Dullahan increased as the various new channels started to talk about cracking down on super powered individuals, and Frost knew he and Peter fitted under that category. 

The news reporter started to talk about the Sokovia accords with a political analyst guest, and Frost snorted when they started using words like ‘Second amendment’ And ‘Freedom to gather’. He switched off the TV irritably and marched into his study with an energy drink, sitting down and researching the accords as much as physically possible whilst blasting Post Malone through headphones he had bought on Thursday. He explained his research to a wall, sniffing in disgust when the wood and paint didn’t reply. Eventually he ran out of energy drinks and slept on the sofa in his study as Spotify ran out of songs to play. 

Peter called early the next morning, asking if he had heard about the bombing in Vienna, and they had an hour long conversation over the phone about it as Frost had breakfast. Frost’s worries increased further as they talked about Peter's future as Spider-Man, and he wanted to tell his friend about the demon inside of him, but he knew Peter would think him a murderer. 

“Oh! And did you see? Tony Stark released a video of this dude who was riding around California on a horse! The dude had no head!” Frost’s blood went cold 

“What was he doing? Apart from doing a cowboy cosplay?” He asked casually 

“Nothing apparently, Tony Stark just caught him ridin’ around and then he vanished in a cloud of smoke” 

“But no head? That’s incredible” 

“Yeah, I wonder if the Avengers are gonna chase him up about a membership!” Peter laughed and Frost laughed nervously along with him, his mind going a mile a minute. Peter didn’t know that the Dullahan was responsible for the murders, and obviously Tony Stark did but chose to keep that information private. Frost saw hope in telling Peter who he was. 

“Hey, Peter?” Peter stopped chuckling

“Yeah?”

“Can you meet me at the raceway – yes that raceway – at noon? I need to tell you something in person” He blurted out.

“Uh, Yeah sure? Why can’t you just tell me now?” 

“It’s not something to be told over the phone. Also can you meet me as Spider-Man?” Peter agreed, slightly freaked out, and they vowed to meet at noon. As soon as they disconnected Frost was a mess. He pulled his already messy hair around and almost ran into a wall in worry. He stumbled into the shower after sloppily taping the gloves over his hands and stood under the water for a good half hour before getting motivated and cleaning himself. The grey t-shirt he wore was plain against the clothes he usually wore, but Frost didn’t have the brain cells to choose anything remotely complex right now. 

He brushed his hair as neat as he could before standing in the middle of his apartment at 11. He cracked his knuckles nervously and started to try and talk with his Dullahan. At first it was reluctant, wanting to stay dormant for a while before doing anything, but Frost insisted. So they opened up a dialogue. The Dullahan couldn’t talk as such, more communicate through feelings and emotions, but Frost understood. Frost explained the situation with the growing concern of the Sokovia accords, and stated that if they wanted to stay on Earth then they needed to get along and schedule the soul-taking. The Dullahan did not like this at all, but Frost told him it was inevitable that they would get caught if they did it without cohesion and if they were always at odds with each other. They were eventually going to be hunted, and they needed to be able to defend themselves. 

The Dullahan agreed, after some negotiation, to letting Frost be able to become the form of the Dullahan with all the benefits, but stay in control. In return, the Demon would be allowed to voice its opinion on topics it felt would affect it, and not be ignored. 2 soul takings would take place in a month, and the Dullahan would choose subjects that were in positions that would attract the least attention if they died, in an effort to remain an urban myth. 

They finished up at half 11, and Frost tried out his new privileges by changing into the Form and vanishing to the raceway. He promptly changed back to his clothes and head and waited for Peter to arrive as he fiddled with the sunglasses on his nose. The summer sun was hot on his neck as he sat on the stands, and he jumped nervously as Peter swung in on his webs, landing on the wooden wall surrounding the raceway. 

“H- hey Spider-Man!” He said, smiling softly as the hero jumped over to him, crossing 15 meters in one leap. 

“Frost, what’s going on?” The mechanical eyes narrowed in worry looked at him. “You bring me out here, tell me to be Spider-Man, and when I get here you look like someone has just died? What’s going on?” He said urgently. Frost took a deep breath.

“Peter, I’m not like you. I wasn’t born the conventional way, I was created by God and lived in heaven for the best 16 years of my life. But something happened and I was cast out. God decided that she didn’t like me and I Fell. Now I don’t know what I did, but I certainly did something bad, so when I fell out of Heaven I became a Dullahan. They’re the Headless Horsemen of the Underworld and they’re Demons, Peter. 

“I’m a demon. I spent 3000 years in a place we call the Void. Then last week I was put on Earth for one purpose, to take souls. But you came along and gave me a new purpose. To have fun. But I can’t have fun when I’m a murderer. On Tuesday and Thursday the Demon took over my body and took the souls of 17 people. I’m invisible when the Dullahan rides to take souls, but I can become visible. That’s how Iron Man saw me on Tuesday, that’s the video you saw. My mind didn’t kill those people, but my body did. And I can’t live with myself if I don’t tell someone. Because when they find out, and they will, they will come for me and I will be dragged back to the Underworld in disgrace. They’ll find me when the Demon kills more people, because the other Demons will find me if I don’t kill people and the Demon doesn’t want to go back.” 

Frost spoke with his head down, and when he finished he jumped down to the track and changed into the Dullahan, watching Peter’s mechanical eyes widen fully as his clothes changed into leather armour and riding gear and Frost’s head smoked away. 

He cracked the whip with force and the clap of hooves on dirt wrought the air, as a massive black horse came galloping around the corner of the track. Frost swung onto the horse gracefully, and sat silently as a man with no head would as Peter stood frozen on the stands. He stood for a solid minute, and with every passing second Frost’s hopes slipped further and further away. He pulled off the mask and exposed the blank face of Peter Parker. Peter slowly walked down the steps and up to Frost on the horse, for it was Frost who was in control at this moment. He stood less than a meter away.

“Are you the Demon now?” He said quietly. In credit to Peter, the hero didn’t start when Frost started to speak telepathically 

“No. We worked out an agreement earlier for control” Peter nodded

“Can you make your head come back? I don’t like talking to a headless body” Frost’s neck was engulfed in Hellfire as his head formed back.

“You do realise how conflicted I am right now, yes?” Frost nodded silently 

“I think it’s best if I leave” He gathered the reins in his gloved hands and prepared to ride away. 

“No, stop” Peter held up his hand 

“If what you have said is true, which I am inclined to believe, then you couldn’t have prevented the murders. Correct?” Frost nodded again 

“Well, in that case, we’re still friends” Peter's face broke out into a wide smile and Frost sagged in relief. Frost dismounted at Peter's suggestion and they walked to the shade and talked. Frost told Peter his stories from the Underworld, and they discussed their possible involvement in the Sokovia accords. 

“I mean, I don’t think Iron Man be interested in me, but since he didn’t tell about what the ‘You-know-what’ did, he may be interested with you” Frost snorted, light glinting off his glasses 

“Oh come on, they’ve got to at least know about you. Besides, I wouldn’t join the Avengers without you” He playfully nudged Peter, who laughed.

“Thanks man, at least I won’t be on my own now. You’ll patrol with me, right?” 

“Of course. Hey, I could even work something out with the government! I take the souls of people on death row or something!” Peter threw his hands up in the air

“Exactly! See, we got it covered! Besides, they can’t exactly tell you ‘no’. A Demons gotta Demon, right?” 

“You get it! You need to be my lawyer!” Peter laughed 

“Hang on, we need a code for if one of the Avengers want to recruit one of us, and we don’t want to give the others identity away” Frost explained

“It needs to be something that wouldn’t make sense to adults. I got it! Vines!”  


“Excuse me?” Frost said confusedly 

“Little seven second videos. They’re really popular right now” 

“Uh, ok. Show us one we can use then” Peter whipped out his phone and spent a minute scrolling, before picking a video where a man was filming from what seemed to be a hotel window, recording two men in a hot tub. He sang ‘Two bros chilling in a hot tub, five feet apart ‘cause they’re not gay’ Frost laughed, but was thoroughly confused. 

“Ok so code ‘hot tub’ means an Avenger is there”

“Uh, the clarifying ‘five feet apart’ means they’re in the room!” 

“Other clarifying ‘two bros’ means that they want both of us”

“Uh ‘not gay’ means don’t come over to where the caller is”

“Brilliant stuff!” They laughed and Peter put his phone away.

“But really though. If we became Avengers would we do all that publicity stuff? Like go on those talk shows and show up at events?” Peter pondered 

“Talk shows?” Frost questioned

“Oh, they’re things celebrities go on to promote movies and talk about themselves. They’re on TV but have live audiences at the same time” Peter pulled out his phone again and they spent the next half hour looking at clips of various late night talk shows, most notably a man called Graham Norton and a woman called Ellen DeGeneres. They skipped around the internet for a while, before scrolling down Twitter and seeing many celebrities posting about protests happening near them.

“Protests? But what about?” 

“The Vienna bombing and the accords is my guess. Look there’s one in Queens!” Peter pointed at a twitter post that had several photos of a large crowd marching past familiar local stores.

“Did you wanna check it out, Spider-Man?” He suggested to Peter 

“I think so, Dullahan” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its 2016 so Vine references are accurate, ok?
> 
> ps is this is for creamchan iloveu


	9. Quality of Mercy Is Not Strained

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The effects of Civil War 
> 
> Please let it be known that i wrote this in October last year. I aint trying to be topical, now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See- i can be pretentious with my chapter titles

They got ready to check out the protests, and as Peter readjusted his mask, he looked at Frost, who was giving his horse a quick pat.

“Are you gonna, y’know…” Peter waved his hand around his face vaguely 

“S’pose I should” Frost shrugged and his face was clouded in smoke. Frost rode and Peter swung towards the general location of the protest, with Peter scrolling Twitter as he swung. They were eventually able to just follow the sound of a hundred of angry people marching, and at Peter's advice, Frost targeted Peter for soul taking. This allowed him to be invisible to everyone except Peter, and he had no intention of killing Peter so it didn’t matter. 

They exited out of an alley and watched as the mass of people marched down the Main Street of Queens, many with slogans painted on signs. Thankfully, this group seemed to be in support for Tony Stark and the Sokovia accords as displayed by the signs, and were made up of mostly young people and college age students. 

The group of about 60 were being escorted through the city by police, who were strolling around the outside, looking around for any signs of a brewing fight. The group seemed to be peaceful at the moment, but Peter could see trouble in the horizon in the form of another group marching directly towards their group. 

Peter could see that the signs they held were in support of American citizens protecting themselves with their own guns, and was made up of mostly middle aged adults. The police were starting to be notified of the approaching group, and many started to inform the protesters. Riot police were gradually trickling in, but they were sparse and the approaching group had what seemed to be homemade riot shields. Frost and Peter cursed in unison and moved towards the inevitable conflict. The riot police that had arrived so far had made a wall blocking the two groups from each other, but the approaching group had no signs of stopping. 

“Peter, I think this is gonna get nasty” Warned Frost and Peter jumped to a rooftop to survey the scene 

“What do you think we should do?” He said desperately 

“I don’t like this, but what about a power play?” 

The groups met, with less than ten meters in separation between the obvious leaders. A young man by the name of Tom led the first group, dubbed group A, and an older woman by the name of Joan led group B. Tom was an English major in University, and planned to go into politics when he finished but not before travelling around Europe on the inheritance he had got from a recently deceased uncle who gave him the money for the express purpose of travelling. Joan had 3 kids, the youngest being 8 years old and an honour roll student. She was currently skipping out on a gym session, but didn’t feel very bad about it as there were 2 other parents who kept hogging the treadmill whenever she started to go towards it. 

So Tom and Joan came face to face, the latter holding a large sign with ‘the US army is the only hero I need’ painted on it in bold letters. Tom didn’t have a sign, but he was chanting ‘Where was America when New York happened?’ Referencing the Chituari attack in 2012. The riot police were holding the two groups apart, but were powerless to do anything unless the groups started to fight. 

“When are you goin’ to stop dreaming, boy? Heroes die! The army has proven again and again they can win wars! We have the largest army in the world!” Joan called to Tom over the divide

“I believe in a future where a country’s worth is not decided by the size of their army! And when my generation takes over, we will make that happen!” Tom replied firmly

“Go back to your mother and grow up!” Was Joan’s witty response. Loud shouts distracted Tom from responding, and he saw a break in the divide where the riot police had become sparse and some members of group B had broken through. They went chest to chest with group A, looming over them in an attempt at intimidation.

“Get your goddamn hands off me, man!” A scrawny protestor from group B yelled out, as a group A protestor pushed him away. They clashed, shoving each other roughly and getting other protesters involved. Soon it threatened to spread to Tom and Joan, who were watching interestedly. A young member of group A had their camera smacked out their hands, who then wailed on the woman responsible with the broken pieces of the machine. The fight escalated as protesters shoved their way over with homemade riot shields as police tried to break up the fight that was rapidly changing into a brawl. 

Tom looked at Joan angrily, who was looking over Tom’s shoulders with her face sheet white. More and more protesters looked in the same direction as her, and Tom curiously turned around. The crowd of protesters behind him was parting like the Red Sea as a lone horseman rode through. 

The horseman’s mount was a black beast, and the rider atop was dressed in tough leather armour with a whip that was made of what seemed to be bone to Tom’s horror. A large sword was resting over the horseman’s shoulder, smoking gently. It led next to a collar that circled the horseman’s neck, where one would assume a head would be, but instead smoke rose from the space and a cold feeling crept over Tom’s heart. His legs were cemented to the floor as the headless man approached, gradually attracting more attention as he drew near. 

Frost rode slowly forwards, the crowd staring at him in silence as he reached the divide between the groups. Several brawlers came to a stop when they caught sight of him and Frost saw Peter swing in from a rooftop and address the highest ranking police officer he could find, telling him to get the groups apart and arrest anyone now. The police moved quietly through the stunned crowd and arrested the brawlers as Frost stopped in the dead center.

He dismounted and walked towards the still fighting protestors. He grabbed two and pulled them apart easily, shoving them towards their respective sides like they were children. He walked up to two fighting protesters who were oblivious to the scene around them and grabbed them both, one in each hand and hoisting them off their feet. They dangled in the air and flailed around before tossing them lightly towards their side and mounting back up again.

“Go home, everyone. This protest is over!” A police officer broke out a megaphone and started to disperse the crowd, pushing people firmly towards the roads and away from Frost and Peter. 

Several fights threatened to break out as police made arrests, but one hoof stomp from Frost’s horse and the occasional whack from a web shooter and the fight drained out of the arrested person. A few young online reporters braved the police and snuck up to Peter and Frost, the former who was standing behind Frost and balancing effortlessly on the back of his horse. Peter crouched down as the reporter held up a camera to his face 

“Spider-Man! Who is the new hero beside you? And are they a hero?” Peter put on his friendliest voice 

“Uh yes, they are most certainly a hero! They don’t have a name yet, so we are taking suggestions” He joked, but the reporter nodded seriously 

“Will they be showing their face, if they have one that is! And will you, Spider-Man, show your face anytime soon?” Peter laughed 

“No, I think I’ll be keeping my mask on for now. I don’t know about my friend here, though” The reporter thanked him and took a few photos before being ushered away by police. 

“Thank you for your help, guys. We uh, didn’t really have a handle on it for awhile” The Officer Peter had talked to before came up to them when the bulk of the crowd had gone. 

“No problem, sir. Glad to help out” Peter shook the man’s hand, who then offered to shake Frost’s. The horseman hesitated slightly before taking his hand and shaking it firmly. 

“Like I say, thank you guys. Hope we see each other again soon, once this accords business goes away” He tipped his hat towards them and walked away, whistling tunelessly. 

“Let’s get out of here” Peter agreed wholeheartedly to Frost’s statement and they got out of there. They parted at the raceway with the promise of doing that again sometime and the vow to see the other tomorrow. 


	10. Seen Better Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> High time for some PLOT

Frost strolled through the downtown streets on his way home, glancing in shop fronts uninterestedly. A flashy technology shop caught his eye, and he remembered all the recommendations Peter and Ned had given him for games. 

He walked in and pulled out his phone, scrolling down the list he had digitised and buying all the products on the quite lengthy list, as well as the game consoles that required them. He paid $200 for an employee to drive to his apartment and deposit them in his package cache that came free with the apartment. 

The liquor store across the road also caught his eye, and started to walk towards it before seeing the legal drinking age on the door and realising he looked 16. He walked down a side street and changed his form, vanishing in a cloud of smoke to Germany and spending almost half a grand on alcohol, including ingredients for a million types of cocktails and the stuff to make them. The cashier also gave him a discounted gravity knife, which was part of a promotion for a brand of vodka. 

The knife was cheap and nasty, but Frost liked the way the blade came out so he kept it. The apartment was dark as he appeared inside, the curtains across the full length windows still drawn from the previous night. He dumped all his alcohol into the fridge and mixed himself a Manhattan before crashing in front of his computer. He groaned at the thought of school the next day and remembered the race but felt a sense of longing. He wanted to go faster. Half a bottle of whiskey later and Frost had bought a Morgan 3 Wheeler. He arranged to pick it up next month and staggered to his bed in a drunken haze, shrugging off his clothes and diving into bed in his underwear. 

The early morning sunlight was harsh as he woke up after the standard 8 hours of sleep, and he groaned and burrowed back under the covers. He barely managed to cover his hands before standing in his shower for ages, throwing up once into the drain and not bothering to properly tame his hair when he got out. 

He simply chugged a bottle of Gatorade for breakfast and threw on a rugby shirt he had bought out of nostalgia, the red and green stripes matching Dullahan's colours in the Void. The sunglasses helped as he walked out of the apartment, but he knew he looked like shit and he didn’t care. He abandoned the helmet again in favour for the goggles and drove to school miserably. 

His massive hangover was instantly visible to Peter and Ned as he parked at school, who expressed concern briefly before being shoved out the way by about 30 students asking about Friday. 

“Come on guys, not now” He smiled and pushed his way through the crowd, joining back up with an amazed Peter and Ned. 

“So, I ask again, what the hell happened to you?” Ned asked

“I have a massive hangover” Frost muttered to the pair

“A hangover? How the hell did you get the stuff to be drunk in the first place? You’re sixteen!” Peter half shouted. Frost winced and covered his ears

“I have methods. Besides, what’s done is done and this isn’t my first hangover so I know what’s gonna happen” Peters brain short circuited 

“This isn’t your first time? How long have you been drinking?” He said furiously 

“You don’t wanna know” They reached their locker and pulled out their books, walking to their first class. 

The day was a haze for Frost, who’s hangover didn’t get much better throughout the day. Geography was the worst, since they had a substitute and she didn’t accept the note from the front office about his glasses, and demanded he take them off or go to the front office. He said ‘ok’ and walked out, strolling to the front office and letting them know the situation. Since it was last period and he looked like death, they just waved him out the door early and told him to tell the teacher that he was being sent home for disobedience. 

He walked back to the classroom to grab his bag and told Peter the situation, who told Ned. The teacher spluttered indignantly as he walked in and out, but Frost didn’t acknowledge her. 

He trudged out the wrong hallway and ended up by the school field, where the school rugby team and significantly larger American Football team were practicing. Frost watched with interest, and saw a sign up sheet on the message board on the wall. He wrote his name down messily and walked back out to the right door, spinning his tyres as he sped home. 

The garage was refreshingly cool as he pulled out of the sun and into the underground, and the employee of the lift gave him a concerned look as he shuffled inside. He remembered his packages at the last minute and grabbed them at the front desk, pulling them into the large lift and garnering strange looks from the patrons inside. He paid them no heed and blearily walked into his apartment, setting the packages down on the kitchen table and walking to the fridge to grab another Gatorade. 

He crashed down on the sofa and ripped open the pack of motorbike gloves, saying a little ‘yeah’ under his breath when the slipped over his hands perfectly. The gloves were black leather and the cuff came half way up his forearm. He flexed his finger experimentally and the leather creaked. He quickly pulled off a glove when his phone rang, and he fumbled slightly without seeing the caller ID. 

“Hello?”

“Frost? It’s Peter. We may have a code Hot Tub, more than five feet apart and gay” Peter said hesitantly 

“I’ve got it” Frost answered and hung up the phone, grabbing a leather jacket and his new gloves and racing down to the garage with newfound energy. He shot out of the garage with his goggles and gloves on, leather jacket flapping open. He got to Peters apartment in record time, seeing his friend by an expensive car that was parked by the front of the building. 

“Hey Frost” Peter waved to him as he parked out front and they started to walk up the steps together.

“What’s the situation” 

“That’s Tony Stark’s car. And I may be mistaken but it’s a strong possibility he’s here for me” 

“If not, it doesn’t really matter” Peter smiled at him and Frost smiled back. They reached the apartment door and Peter unlocked it. 

“Hey, Peter. How was school?”

“Hey, aunt May! There’s this crazy car outside and I’ve got Frost with me!” He called to his guardian as they walked through the threshold and into the apartment. Frost crashed lightly into Peter as they stopped, and he looked to Peter who was staring at the sofa. There, sat on the sofa eating a slice of some kind of toast, was Tony Stark. 

“Oh, Mr. Parker, Mr Frost” Stark said knowingly 

“Uh.. What.. are you.. Hey, I’m Peter” Peter stuttered 

“Tony” The man replied, looking towards Frost

“Uh, hello I’m Frost” He said awkwardly 

“What are you- What- What are you doing here?” Peter asked expectantly 

“It’s about time we met. You two have been getting my emails, right” Stark said, winking at them with an innocent smile.

“Uh, Yeah?” Peter said, playing along

“Regarding..?” Frost helped him out

“You guys didn’t tell me about the grant?” May said 

“The grant!” Frost finished 

“The September foundation” Stark added 

“Right” Peter answered, gesturing towards Stark

“Yeah, remember when you guys applied?”

“Yes?” They said uncertainly, with May giving them a ‘why didn’t you tell me look’

“Well I approved” Stark took a sip of his cup “And now we’re in business” He started pointedly at them both, willing them to play along

“You didn’t tell me anything? Are you keeping secrets from me now?” May said 

“Well I just know how you like surprises so I thought I’d tell you… Anyway what did I apply for?” Peter questioned 

“That’s what I’m here to hash out”

“Ok, hash it out, ok” 

“It’s so hard to believe that she’s someone’s aunt” Stark said, gesturing towards aunt May with a smile 

“Well they come in all shapes and sizes” May said, smiling back 

“This walnut date loaf is exceptional” Peter looked confused as Frost stood there self consciously

“I’ll just stop you there. This grant, does it got money involved or whatever?” Peter said awkwardly, gesturing wildly 

“Yeah, it’s pretty well funded. I mean look who you’re talking to” Stark said 

“Wow” Peter said blankly, looking towards Frost who smiled and raised his eyebrows, money the last thing on his mind. 

“5 minutes with him?” Stark asked May, who agreed instantly 

“It’s a good thing you’re here too, Mr. Frost. I needed to talk to you as well” Tony got up off the sofa and the three of them piled into Peters room as Stark locked the door. The man immediately crossed over to Peters bin and spat out the loaf May had given him. 

“As walnut date loaves go, that wasn’t bad” Frost settled into Peter’s desk chair as Stark moved up beside him and examined Peters computers. 

“Oh well, look at this. Retro tech huh? Where did we get this? Thrift store, Salvation Army?”

“The dumpster, actually” Peter responded, and Frost shifted in his chair, vowing to replace it. 

“So you’re a dumpster diver?” 

“Yeah, I was- anyway, look. We definitely didn’t apply for your grant-“ Stark cut him off

“Ah ah! Me first. Quick question of the rhetorical variety.” He pulled out a fancy phone and a video hologram was projected into the room. It showed an outside perspective of Peter catching Frost as he fell into the hole at the raceway and Frost holding the bike as he was pulled up. 

“That’s you right?” He let out an amazed noise as Peter pulled up Frost and the bike. “Woah, quite a catch! 570 pounds!” He said to Peter “And you! 450 pound bike and you held onto it with barely a scratch on you!” He said quietly 

“I play rugby” Frost said lamely 

“Not many rugby players can do that” He flicked to a different video, recorded at the protest where Frost and Peter had broken up the brawl. He focused on Peter jumping to the police chief.

“A 30 foot jump without a run up? That’s some skill” He showed another video of when Frost held up the two protestors. “180 pounds in each hand. Incredible” He looked down to Frost who was watching the screen silently

“But that’s all fake right? Those clips are on YouTube!” Peter walked towards Frost 

“Yeah like the UFOs over Phoenix?” Stark said absently, grabbing a broom and pushing up a panel in Peter's ceiling to reveal the spider suit as it dropped down. Peter dived towards it and shoved it in his closet hastily. 

“So you’re Spiderling? Crime fighting Spider? Spider boy?” Stark asked, telling him the game was up

“Spider-Man” Peter said quietly 

“And you! You’re Headless Harry? Horseman? Headless cowboy? Mr ‘I almost killed Iron Man?’” Frost swallowed nervously as Peter looked at him in confusion 

“Yeah, that’d be me” 

“So, Spider Boy needs an upgrade and the cowboy needs to manage his problems better” Frost looked at him, unsure if Stark was saying what he thought he was saying 

“Yeah, I know about your problems with the big boy inside” He tapped Frost on the chest 

“I heard your conversation at the raceway” 

“You followed me?” Frost said incredulously 

“I thought you were a serial killer, kid” Frost nodded in acquiescence and Stark sat down 

“So why do you guys do it, what gets you outta your beds in the morning?” 

Mr. Stark left after letting Aunt May know the details. His head of security, a man called Happy, would pick them up the next morning from their respective apartments and take them to Germany for a few days for a ‘retreat’. Peter and Frost were left sitting in the bedroom, stunned. 

“He’s really nice” Frost said, breaking the silence 

“So cool” Peter replied 

“We’re going to Germany, Peter” Frost said quietly 

“Yep” He responded in the same tone. They exploded at the same time, jumping up and hugging each other tightly. Frost held Peter in a fireman’s lift and danced around the room as the other boy laughed. 

Aunt May came in and congratulated them both, and invited Frost for dinner to which he graciously accepted and they ate pizza and coke whilst watching Indiana Jones. 

Frost drove home at 7pm, buying a trunk suitcase on the way home and crashing down onto the sofa, drawing the curtains and tearing off his sunglasses with a grin. 

He didn’t drink that night, but packed instead, filling his trunk with clothes for a day and night plus a spare pair of sunglasses. His Dullahan fought to get out as he packed, but his elation kept it down and he fell asleep without an incident. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate transcribing


	11. Come As You Are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're going on a trip

He got dressed fast the next morning, in the constant jeans and a t- shirt but this time in a Barbour Rexton Jacket. He chugged a smoothie and raced out half an hour before Happy was due to arrive. He quickly drove to a electronics shop and bought 2 Fuji X100T cameras that caught his eye, grabbing SD cards and speeding back to his apartment. He grabbed his bags and waited for Happy to come. The quick knock on the door alerted him and he opened it to reveal a big man with a tired expression.

“Are you Frost?” He said shortly

“Uh, Yeah that’s me” Happy gestured for him to follow and Frost grabbed his bags before scrambling out after him, locking the doors with his keys and running after the man. They stood awkwardly in the elevator and exited out the front entrance, something Frost hadn’t done in awhile. Peter was already in the car when they got out, and he greeted him with a smile.

“Hey, how's it going!” Peter said as they drove away 

“I’m great and I’ve got a present for you” He pulled out one of the cameras he had just bought and handed it to the amazed friend.

“Frost, please- I can't take this-“ 

“It’s all good. I’ve got one as well, so it’s no problem” Peter held the camera carefully in his hands as Frost passed it over, and turned it on. The SD was already in there so Peter started rolling.

“Oh my god, this is incredible!” He filmed Frost’s smiling face before filming out the window and putting on a gruff voice 

“Queens, New York. It’s not much but it’s home” 

“You know you can’t show anyone that, right?” Happy said from the driver seat 

“Yeah, I know” Peter recorded Happy through the window between the driver and the passenger side

“So why are you doing it?” 

“Because it’s fun” Happy rolled up the window, blocking them off. 

“It’s got a 5 year warranty, so don’t worry about breaking it” Frost chuckled. Peter held it less tightly after that. They stopped at a private airstrip and Happy led them towards a plane with the Stark Industries logo on the side. Peter recorded the whole thing, including Frost tripping on the steps. Frost got him back later on the flight by jumping into his arms as he ate a pizza roll, forcing him to drop it to catch him. 

They landed in a public airport in Germany and passed through, theorising behind Happy’s back what they were there for. They garnered a small amount of attention as they walked through Leipzig, and Happy spirited them away to a fancy hotel. He gave them a key to a set of rooms and disappeared into the one next door.

“Suit up” Was all he said and they walked into the suite. 

“This is so cool!” Peter filmed Frost as he changed into his armour, but he put the camera down when he changed into his suit.

“Can’t really believe this is happening” Frost laughed softly as he stretched in the armour, keeping his head on for the minute. 

“What are you wearing? Where’s the suitcase?” Happy walked into the room as Peter was psyching himself up and Frost was trying to calm his Dullahan down. 

“This is my suit?” Happy pulled them through another door that they had thought was a closet. A suitcase sat on a table next to a small box on the side. 

“A minor upgrade” Peter muttered as he filmed the stuff. He almost dropped the camera when the suitcase opened and a new suit was revealed. Frost opened the small box and a small card popped out.

“‘A bit of a calming device’? What does that-?” Happy pushed the card to the side, showing a large chip the size of a biscuit. The chip had several small metal pins either side, and a wire extended from the top and into an earpiece. Happy grabbed it and gave Frost a word of warning before pressing it to the back of his neck. He yelled out in pain as the pins pierced his skin and he grabbed at his neck. The chip was firmly secured as he felt it and he rounded on Happy.

“What the hell did you do!” 

“The boss said that it’s to help with your little problem?” Happy said cluelessly 

“Problem? I don’t-“ Then it hit him. The Dullahan was silent. For the first time in 3000 years he couldn’t feel it. He didn’t like it.

“Can you take it off please? I don’t like it-“ He scratched at his neck agitatedly, almost tearing the skin around the chip off. 

“Uh yeah, hold on a sec” Happy touched the chip and it fell off. Immediately the feeling of the Dullahan was back and he breathed easier. It raged in his chest, unused to being shut out.

“Are you alright?” Happy and Peter looked at him uncertainly and Frost nodded 

“Yeah I’m ok- can you change the- I don’t know- sensitivity?” He stuttered 

“Uh Yeah. Here, you do it” he passed the chip to Frost who fiddled with the controls before attaching it back on. The Dullahan was still there, but he was muted and unthreatening as a kitten. Frost found he had a lot more freedom now, as he could keep the hellfire on his head instead of have no head and so he did. 


	12. Unstoppable Force, Meet Immovable Object

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The best laid schemes of mice and men, go often tumbling down again, and leave us nought but grief and pain.

Happy herded them out the room quietly and they drove back to the airport in a black SUV as Peter and Frost raved to each other about their new stuff. Peter was fascinated by Frost’s new look, as he opted to use his flaming head like a mask. He kept his face for the majority of the ride, as Peter had managed to smuggle his camera into the car and he was raving to Frost about his new suit. Frost had to admit he looked amazing in it, much better than his hoodie. 

They got back to the airport and Happy drove through the back of the airport and into the private area for employees. The teenagers stuck their heads out Frost’s window as they drove through the deserted area, Peters camera rolling all the while. They stopped at a plane hangar and Happy kicked them out and drove off, pointing towards the hanger as he disappeared. They walked inside and saw Mr. Stark with War Machine, Vision, Black Widow and The Black Panther they had seen on the news.

“Parker! Frost! Come on over!” Mr Stark was in his suit, along with War Machine and everyone else. 

“This is the backup?” The King of Wakanda said incredulously 

“Yup. And they’re here to help” 

“Tony, they’re kids!” Black Widow accused. Frost raised an eyebrow and his head burst into flame 

“That’s slightly insulting,” He said. Everyone except Mr Stark took a step back

“Jesus christ!” Black Widow’s hand flew to her belt, where two mean-looking sticks rested silently.

“See? They ain’t exactly normal” He reassured the red haired woman, who inclined her head in apology 

“My bad, Mr...?” 

“Frost, just Frost” She shook his gloved hand 

“Natasha Romanoff” She held out her hand to Peter 

“Peter,” He greeted. The rest of the group introduced themselves, which was slightly unnecessary but polite, and Mr Stark started to talk strategy. He gave each person a job, even Peter and Frost 

“Right, Frost. You need to find Cap when they arrive and stick with him until he gets out in the open. I want you to target all of us so we know where you are, and don’t engage them until I give you the signal. When you do engage… try not to kill them, but if they’re going in gun blazing, then respond in kind, but no reaping souls or whatever you do. Peter, I’ve got a good signal for you…” 

They moved around to an open space in the middle of the airport lounge, Peter hitching a ride with Frost on his horse whilst the others ran or flew. Mr Stark connected them to their radios so they could all talk, and Peter helped him put the earpiece on. 

He discovered his glasses weren’t necessary when he set his head on fire, so he put them down by Peters stuff and grabbed a cheap pair from the duty free as they separated to get into position. Frost took up place in the airport entrance and targeted everyone, and they all waited for Captain America to arrive. 

“God this place is big!” Frost sprinted from one end of the check in desk to the other, and on his way back he ran on top of the desk, his booted feet phasing through the office supplies scattered around the surfaces.

“I know, right? There’s so much glass!” Peter replied over the radio, and Frost could hear the faint thunking sounds of soft impacts on glass over the channel.

“Are you running on the glass?” He asked incredulously, and Stark chimed in over the radio

“Hey! I could see you running on the desk, champ! You’re in no place to talk!” Frost gave an indignant noise

“Oi! No spying!” 

Frost was doing cartwheels on the tiled floor when he saw a small blue car and a white van arrive.

“They’re here,” He said quickly, running out to follow them. The Rogue Avengers piled out of the vehicles, grabbing weapons and walking through a side door. They were instantly recognisable to Frost, who had seen multiple news reports of them, decked out in their full gear. They seemed slightly nervous, which Frost supposed was natural, and their pace was quick and hurried. Frost walked with them as they went down the maintenance hallways and updated the team whenever they talked, dancing around them to keep them in sight. 

The one called Scarlet witch looked around curiously whenever he talked, and he knew she felt something. She even once waved her hand through his chest, but since he was technically on another dimensional plane than her, she didn’t feel anything, but to Frost it felt like an icy breeze. 

Rogers sent Barnes and Wilson off to another part of the airport, which Frost told Stark about, and the rest of the group ran towards a helicopter that Stark had placed in the middle of the tarmac. 

“Frost, after Barnes, if you please.Peter, you too”

Frost looked up from his examination of Rogers’ shield, and gave a quick confirmation, chasing after the two men that had just disappeared down a hallway. 

The order soon came through to engage and he took a deep breath. He ripped off the cheap sunglasses and his head caught fire as he revealed himself. Barnes and Wilson turned around as he cracked his whip, and Wilson went flying as he curled the whip around his legs and threw him towards the ceiling. 

“Jesus fuck!” He quickly opened his wings and flew back down, but Barnes had already charged at Frost, regardless of his flaming head.

“What the hell are you?” He yelled as they clashed, and Barnes was almost stabbed as Frost drew his sword and blocked his punch with the blade. Barnes kicked at his knees but Frost dodged, not wishing to give his talents away just yet. His wishes were ignored as Wilson attempted to fly into him, but he didn’t move and Wilson almost broke his neck when he was stopped so suddenly. 

“Shit” Was all he said and he kicked Barnes in the chest as Peter arrived. Wilson was thrown down a flight of stairs as Peter webbed him up, and Barnes was tied up in a similar way. 

“Is your head on fire?!” Wilson shrieked as the webs anchored him to the ground, and Frost chuckled as Barnes looked at him warily.

“That’s gotta be a trick, right?” He said cautiously, and Peter laughed

“No tricks here...do you have a metal arm? That’s so cool!” Peter admired Barnes’ arm from the top of the stairs as he secured them to the ground, but shrieked in surprise as a little red drone came rocketing out of nowhere and pulled him away, with Frost running after him. Peter detached himself from the little drone and they stumbled out onto a small smoking balcony watching as Peter's childhood heroes fought below them. 

“This sucks, huh?” Frost said softly 

“Yup” Peter replied, and they watched for another minute in silence. “All good things come to an end.” Peter broke the silence with a note of conviction, and Peter leaped up onto the railing with a small salute, and Frost nodded as he swung away 

Frost saw Rogers with the King, so he called the horse and rode over as the man called Lang ran up to him. He stopped by Rhodes as Lang and Rogers each threw something small at them. That something small turned out to be a large fuel truck that flew towards them. Frost dismounted and grabbed Rhodes, pulling him behind his horse as the truck exploded in front of him. 

“What the-“ The shrapnel and fire passed harmlessly over the horse as they hid behind. Rogers and Lang ran away as the smoke cleared, and Stark landed beside them. 

“Alright, now I’m pissed” Rhodes ground out.

“Is this part of the plan?” Romanoff said sarcastically 

“Well I was planning to go easy on them, but if you wanna change it up?” Stark said 

Frost gave Peter a lift as they followed the team. 

They stopped in the path of the Rogues as Vision halted their path with a beam of energy and a standoff ensued. Frost sent the horse away and they stood in a line. 

He saw the Rogues as they saw him, and he saw a few more wary looks cast his way, and Rogers exchanged a word with Barnes, but the matter was dropped as Rogers started to move forward, and soon Frost’s team was running too. Stark powered towards them and they followed with varying degrees of conviction, with Black Widow last. Frost targeted Maximoff and ran towards her as everyone clashed with a clang of energy and metal. 

She was throwing crates at Peter so he curled his whip around her waist and threw her into a crate, giving her a taste of her own medicine. She cushioned her fall and flew at him, throwing red mist towards him. It passed harmlessly through him and he punched her in the face with smack. She flew back several feet and crashed to the ground, rolling over in pain and clutching her nose. She cowered down as Frost approached, but leaped up as he got closer, throwing a luggage cart at him, which was cut in half as he held his sword in the path of it. 

The pieces flew either side of him with a disgusting grinding sound, carving deep grooves into the concrete of the runway, and Maximoff stared at him with naked admiration, blood pouring out her nose from Frost’s punch.

“What are you?” She said strangely, and Frost shook his flaming head as he let Vision take over. 

He saw Peter take on Rogers, and winced as his friend was kicked in the face, sending him into a baggage train. The American icon advanced on the fallen teen, so Frost ran at him full tilt, smashing into him like a freight train on steroids, making Rogers fly into the side of a small jet with a thunk. 

Rogers, to his credit, wasn’t phased by the flaming man clad in leather holding a large sword, and he recovered quickly and whacked him in the face with his shield, which surprisingly kicked him back a foot, onto his back, creating a scorch mark on the tarmac as his head whacked onto the ground. He scrambled onto his knees and punched Rogers as hard as he could, and the super soldier grabbed him and they wrestled on the tarmac. The soldier tried to put him in a headlock but he just let his head go all the way, leaving him headless. 

He descended on Rogers as the man fell backwards from the lack of support from his hold, and he started to beat the living daylights out of him, stomping on his chest with his booted feet, grabbing his shield and flinging it into a jet with a clang. Rogers was spared when Wilson came flying overhead and the Falcon grabbed him by his cloak and dragged him up into the sky. 

“Fuck!” Disoriented by the change in altitude, Frost lost focus and his head formed backup without any sunglasses. But fortunately, as Frost discovered, he didn’t need sunglasses when he was in this form. He took the opportunity to look at the world through his untainted eyes before he was dragged through a plane as Wilson flew low. Wilson’s grip on his cloak held firm as the metal bent and snapped in Frost’s path, and he emerged the other side, unscathed.

“What are you made of, man?” Wilson looked down at Frost, seeing no damage on his body, and cursed once again. 

“Pure ass!” Frost yelled, and started to swing his sword at Wilson’s wings as he heard shouts of confusion over the radio and they caught a glimpse of a giant man appearing behind them. 

“Oh my Satan, What the hell is that?” Frost yelled. He yelped as Wilson flew into Stark and he was tossed to the side. He grunted and struggled to his feet, watching as Lang held Rhodes in his grasp. Lang threw the man and Peter scrambled to catch him, bracing himself against a bus. He caught a glimpse of an injured Barnes and a limping Steve Roger slowly making their way towards a hanger and called it out over the radio. 

“We’re a little held up over here, can you stop them Frost?” Stark asked distractedly

“I’ll do my best” He confirmed and chased after them, weaving between Lang’s feet. His feet thumped on the tarmac as wind breezed through his hair, and the sounds of the battle raged behind them as Lang wrecked havoc.

“Woah, that guy has a head now?” He heard Lang say, and he smiled as he slid below a plane and caught up with the duo. 

He drew his sword and stabbed Barnes in his metal arm, pulling him off balance. Barnes staggered but stayed upright, and they all looked up as a shrieking, grinding noise echoed above them as Vision collapsed an observation tower beside them, and they ran blindly through the dust and falling debris. 

A chunk of concrete fell on Rogers’ shoulder, and he fell down as Barnes scooped up a metal rod and swung it into Frost’s head. 

The metal bent over his cheek and he ploughed into Barnes, throwing him forward and into the ground. He moved towards Rogers but the ground cracked underneath him and he saw a battered looking Maximoff floating in the entrance to the hangar. 

He swore briefly before being thrown into the roof as the ground rose up suddenly. He flew through the roof and crashed down on top as Maximoff floated towards him. He drew his whip and ran towards her, jumping off the roof and wrapping the whip around her and dragging her down with him. 

They crashed onto the quinjet as it flew out of the hangar, ripping off a large portion of the wing and causing it to veer horribly. Maximoff lay still as he groaned and stood up, watching Stark, Rhodes and Wilson fly after the hindered jet. He felt dust float down into his hair as debris plinked down off the roof, streaking his raven hair with white. Vision landed beside him and cradled Maximoff as she stirred. Stark asked for help as Wilson sent small misses towards them and Vision sent a beam of energy towards the flyers, gouging a deep chunk out of Rhodes’ suit, right over the arc reactor. 

Frost watched in horror as the beam missed Wilson’s pack and burnt through Rhodes’ arc reactor, making him dead in the sky. Frost began to run towards the falling suit, mounting up when his horse galloped up beside him. Stark screamed into the radio as he fell, the volume whiting out the microphone slightly.

“Stark, keep going! I’ve got him!” Frost yelled into the radio, pushing his horse to incredible speeds. The hooves tore up dirt and grass as he flew across the field, watching Rhodes fall in front of him.

“I- are you sure?” Stark yelled back, conflicted, and Frost could see him slowing down in the air.

“Yes! I’m going to make it! Ask your fancy AI, I know she knows!” Frost heard the AI confirm his claim and saw Stark change his course and fly after the Jet again, tearing into the back and forcing his way inside. 

Frost got closer to Rhodes as he came closer to the ground. He brought his feet off the stirrups and onto the saddle as his cloak flew out behind him, and just as Rhodes came a few meters from the ground he jumped and grabbed him, vanishing and appearing alongside the quinjet and they kept falling. 

Wind roared around them as they fell, and Frost felt terror climb its way into his chest, but he pushed through and tore off Rhodes’ helmet and exposed his terrified face. He ripped open the suit and pulled Rhodes out of it as they plummeted through the sky, nearing the ground again. He saw Rhodes babbling in utter horror as his suit dropped faster than them, but the wind took away any sound. Rhodes gripped onto Frost tightly and they vanished as the ground rushed up to meet them, appearing in the middle of a nearby lake. 

Frost felt water envelop his senses as they powered through the water, sinking 10 meters before coming to a standstill. The cold was all encompassing as they gripped each other, frozen within the lake, but Rhodes broke out after a second, pulling them both to the surface. Frost found his body and they vanished again, appearing a few meters in the air next to Rhodes’ destroyed suit on the ground. Frost felt the armour melt away and he was blinded as light streamed into his eyes and they crashed onto the ground, Rhodes yelling out in pain. 

They rolled apart and Frost hacked his lungs out, chucking water up onto the grass as they rolled apart. Frost felt a burning pain in his eyes as they looked up at the sky and he had the sense to shut his eyes. He gradually registered that Stark was yelling over the radio, asking what had happened, but his voice was absent from his chest. Rhodes saw him exit the quinjet in the sky and hold two handcuffed bodies, diving down towards them when he saw them on the ground. 

He dumped Rogers and Barnes on the ground and retracted his helmet, kneeling down beside them. 

“Are you ok? Did you get him? Why are you out of the suit?” 

“Yeah, he got me” Rhodes said as he sat up, screwing his face up in pain. 

“Rhodey! Are you ok?” Stark asked urgently 

“My leg’s broken but I’m a damn sight better than the alternative” He said cheerfully, smiling through the pain. Frost rolled over and buried his face in the dirt as his eyes burned. Stark immediately switched over to the teen.

“Frost, come on, talk to me!” He said urgently. Frost rubbed his hands over his eyes and sat up gingerly. He coughed up a splash of water as he found his voice

“Yeah I’m ok” He replied hoarsely. The strange feeling of dry clothes and a wet body made his skin crawl.

“Oh thank god for that. Alright let's get you out of here. Wait a sec, why are you covering up your eyes? Did you hurt them?” He asked, concerned

“No, they’re just really sensitive to light” Frost heard movement as Stark crouched down beside him.

“Ok how sensitive are we talking? Like inside a dark room for awhile, sensitive?”

“Like in the dark for several thousand years, sensitive” He said irritably, and Stark held up his hands

“Whoa, its ok, we’ll figure it out” Stark said softly 

“Hey, I’m sorry. It just hurts” Frost felt like shit for snapping at the person who was only trying to help.

“I understand. Is that why you wear sunglasses?” He said calmly, moving towards Rhodes and helping him get comfortable in his sopping wet clothes as several emergency vehicles arrived.

“Yeah, they’re usually enough but the light got into my eyes for a bit. I don’t- I- I don’t think I can see right now” He said hesitantly, not removing his hands from his eyes. 

“That’s ok, we’ll get you sorted.” 

He felt Stark stay by his side as the paramedics arrived and examined them. Several armed SWAT vehicles arrived and took the heavily beaten super soldiers away as they were tended to. 

Rhodes was loaded into a separate ambulance and told Stark to ride with Frost as the boy was led to the other vehicle. Rhodes insisted as Stark dithered, but was finally swayed when the paramedics said there was no room. Stark sent his battered suit back to his house and followed Frost into the German ambulance as a paramedic instructed him to keep his hands tight over his eyes as the boy explained his condition. 

They diagnosed Stark with a broken shoulder and secured him to a seat as they drove over the dirt and eventually back to the airport. He insisted they stop for a moment and Peter came running up to the van, tearing the door open with his mask on.

“Mr Stark! Frost! Are you guys ok? Why are you wet?”

“All good, had a small swim” Frost said 

“We’re all fine, Spider-Man,” Stark said pointedly, reminding Peter of their company. 

“Oh right! Sorry, Mr Stark! When are you guys coming back?” 

“I don’t know, but you’re not leaving without me” Frost said quickly

“Of course not! See you back at the hotel then!” He shut the door and the ambulance drove onto the open road, relieving Stark who’s shoulder had been jolted uncomfortably on the rough terrain. As they drove, a paramedic talked to Frost calmly, his German accent sounding smooth.

“Ok, I’m going to ask you a few questions, ok? Just to make sure there isn’t any brain damage” He said 

“Oh- ok” Frost said quietly and the paramedic started to wind a bandage around his eyes so he could let down his hands.

“Ok, so what’s your full name?” 

“David Blair Frost. What’s yours?” The paramedic chuckled softly as he wrapped the bandage around the back of his head, brushing stray bits of grass out from his wet hair as he went.

“My Name is Hans. Where were you born, David?” 

“Wales”

“Can you tell me where in Wales?” 

“Llandeyrn”

“Oh my gosh! Can you say that really long name?” Stark suddenly butted in from where he was getting a temporary sling. 

“What? Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch?” 

“That’s the one” Stark said triumphantly as the paramedics looked at him in wonder

“I have no idea what you just said” Hans said softly

“Not many people do”

“Um ok. Any other injuries, David?” Hans fought to get back into his professional mindset 

“No, just the eyes” Hans finished wrapping the bandage around and he examined the rest of Frost regardless.

“What happened to your hands?” He unwrapped the bandages over his half healed hands, exposing the unprotected flesh to the cold air 

“Uh, I held onto something heavy and it tore the skin” 

“Did you go to a hospital?” 

“No, didn’t think I needed to”

“You needed to. I’m surprised they haven’t got infected already. Whoever wrapped them did a very good job” He wrapped his hands up again, discarding the dirty bandages and using new ones. 

“Who did it, Frost?”

“May Parker? Peter’s aunt” He said, looking in the direction of Starks voice.

“Ok David, back to me. We are almost at the hospital, so when we get there a doctor will take your arm and walk you to an examination room, ok?” Hans said calmly, unbuckling him and pushing his hair off his dirt covered face. 

“Are you coming with me, Mr. Stark?” He said hesitantly towards the billionaire 

“Yup, I’ll try” He said smoothly

They pulled up at the hospital and the doors were flung open once again, but this time by doctors and nurses. 

The paramedics informed them of their injuries and they were helped out of the van and moved inside. A doctor took Frost’s arm and led him towards an examination room that held another doctor, where he explained that he was going to take off Frost’s clothes and check him for any injuries. He was sat down on a bed and examined as they talked to him casually. He was then taken to a machine and his eyes unwrapped and examined carefully as he sat silently. They eventually wrapped him back up and took him to a room to wait for the test results to develop. 

He sat on the sterile bed they had left him on and remembered the feeling of falling when he was catching Rhodes. The image of the ground only a few meters away was burned into his eyes and he shook slightly when his mind played back the memory of seeing the ground and immediately getting a face full of water, remembering the liquid rushing into his mouth and up into his nose. His blood was pounding in his ears and his body shook violently as the sensation overwhelmed him. 

A warm body enveloped him and held him tight, snapping him back to reality as his blinded eyes streamed with tears. 

“Hey, hey, hey! What’s going on here?” Stark’s soothing voice cut through the roaring blood and calmed him softly down 

“I- I- I’m ok” He choked out 

“Really? Well if that’s the case then you won’t mind me hugging you for a few more seconds” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is all I've written so far (In about September 2019), so if I update any more, then It'll be in a slightly different style, as I hope i've imporved since this, but considering i just spelt improved wrong, I doubt it

**Author's Note:**

> Any problems- don't hesitate to tell


End file.
